Sacrafices
by softbalchick181
Summary: You left us Robin, you lied, you stole, your hurt us all. You broke Stars heart! Tell me, why on Earth would I let you back into this house? Cyborg yelled at the soaking wet man. Please, I beg you, I'm desperate, if not for me, then please, for my son
1. Time is money, and there is little time

I do not in anyway own Teen Titans, Batman, Or any of the other charicteres. I do however, own Alec.

This story takes place 7 yearsafter some sort of falling out you'll find out just what kind the Titans have. Critisium is more the welcome, heck, I'm just reveiew hungry. The more I get, the faster I write. The other Titans WILL BE IN THE STORY, probably within the next two chaptures. So please enjoy.

Sacrafices: Time is money, and there is little time.

He moaned slightly at the thought of yet another day, here, in this crime filled town, doing back braking work, all the while knowing he could do great and powerful things in Gothem, or even Jump City. He momentarily wondered why he bothered with it all, sometimes it seemed as though the world were playing some sick game, in which the object was to make his life as hard as humanly possible.

And then he smiled as that reason moved beside him in his bed. Looking to his left he noticed a small bundle wrapped up in his bed sheets. Wiggling around as if trying to free its self.

_No wonder I was so cold this morning. _He thought, the little guy had stolen all of the covers for his own use. _I've got to teach him how to share better. _He chuckled at the thought of his son sharing.

"Good morning squirt, why are you in my bed and why do you have all of the covers?" He smiled as his son freed himself from embrace of the fluffy linens.

The young boy blushed as he looked down, as if noticing for the first time the fact the rest of the bed was bare and cold.

"Sorry Daddy, I had a bad dream." Robin winced. This was the third dream this week, and the third time he'd been woken due to lack of covers. Though he couldn't possibly be angry with the boy, he rememberd times when he'd dream of his parents. He'd wake up crying, though he never went to Bruce. He didn't want to seem week. However, this didn't stop him from going to Alfred for comfort. Suddenly he was thrown into flash backs of the kind older man. _I wonder how he's doing…_

"Daddy?" He was thrown out of his thoughts by the boy looking worriedly at him.

"Sorry Squirt, I was thinking, what did you want?" He tried rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, but to little avail.

The boy giggled at his fathers efforts. "That's okay Daddy, sometimes I think real hard and forget what I was doin before, but can you make the beeping stop?"

_Beeping…Oh my gosh, the alarm clock! I'm late!_

"Daddy's running late, can you get your self dressed Alec?" He was running around trying to find a suitable pair of pants. Alec nodded franticly, happy to prove himself a 'big boy'. "Good, now go hurry and get dressed so we can go see Mrs. Kraft"

Alec eagerly ran off in the direction of his room. Robin smiled at his son, he was getting so big now, which, at the moment, was a very good thing, as he had not enough time to deal with himself, let alone a young child's. Though Alec was hardly grown up, he was very mature for his 'three in a half' years. He always insisted on that half.

Robin now had pants, shoes, and shirt. He briefly put thought into combing his hair, but decided against it as he found it to be waste of time and effort. Glancing at the clock, he cursed as he found it to be half past eight.

_Great, we're even later then I expected. sigh At least I know the chief never expects me to bring in donuts. _

Reaching Alec's room, he was surprised to face not a three year old boy, but rather some sort of clothing monster. Pants on backward, head trying to be forced through a sleeve, was the perfect match to two untied shoes on the wrong feet.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Robin glanced at the clock again. 8:45

_I do not have time for this!_

"It's open!" He yelled while taking Alec's shirt off. Then, to top matters off, the phone rang, adding to the pandemonium.

_Crap crap crap, where's the phone! I'm going to get fired for sure this time, no, chief will understand, I'm sure he will…_

"WHERES THE PHONE!" He accidentally voiced his last thought, and for a mere second it seemed as though all the noise stopped. Alec stopped wiggling, the phone seemed to stop ringing, even the hum of the refrigerator seemed to go dead.

"Its right here." Robin glanced over to see Mrs. Kraft holding the phone in her hand. Mrs. Kraft lived in the apartment downstairs, and was kind enough to watch over Alec while Robin worked. She also helped around the house when things got too busy, not unlike the very moment.

"Don't worry, I can get him dressed, you take the call and get going!" She smiled gently and began her way towards the squirming boy.

Robin sighed with relief as he took the phone from Mrs. Kraft.

"Hello?" He said very hurriedly on the way out the door.

"Yes, Mr. Grayson? This is Mary from the electric company, we noticed you hadn't been…" She was cut off however by Robin.

"Sorry, No habla Espanol" With that he hung up the phone and ran out the door.


	2. Desperate Hope

AN: Guess what? I still don't own anyone. On, and Italics are Robins thoughts, just in case you were confused. Though, that'd be difficult to know because no one has reviewd...

Robin raced into the office, panting and out of breath he reached Miss. Dune, the day secretary for the Trenton City Police Department. She looked up from a pile of papers perfectly organized in three neat little stacks. She smiled a sympathetic smile at Robin, meaning the Chief was not happy.

"How bad is it?" Robin asked with a hopeful voice.

"Well…he's flustered. Two officers were killed last night so he's been dealing with the press and family members all morning. He needed you to…" She was cut off however when Robin interrupted.

"Which officers…" Everyone knew everyone; he wanted to know who had sacrificed themselves for the greater good this time. _This time. _Sadly, Death was becoming an almost common occurrence among the force. It was as if someone was purposely going after cops.

"Jerry and Pete, they were supposed to be…" However, once again, she was interrupted by Robin.

"They were supposed to be patrolling 45th avenue and Park…Oh God, that was originally assigned to me! Chief took me off it because I told him Alec wasn't feeling good…That should be me dead. Not them. They've got family, Petes got a wife!" But before he could continue, Miss. Dune, tired of not having her say, decided she best stop him.

"And you have a young son to take care of; don't beat your self up about this Dick, it was fate, now go in and talk to Chief, I think he wants to see you." Though Robin wondered how much anything really had to do with fate, he continued threw the glass paneled door that led to the main office.

Chief Dartmore wasn't a small man, in personality or in size. His appetite was only matched by his anger but both could be subdued by a glazed donut. Though the man was quick with his tong and easily frustrated, he had a good heart, and was always willing to give you a second chance. It was the 11th chance that he had problems with.

Chief Dartmore's face was red as a cherry as he yelled into the phone.

"No! We will not be speaking to any reporters on the recent crimes against law enforcement workers! I already told you….No…no…Oh just go to hell!" He slammed the phone down and looked up at Robin.

"Oh, so you decided you'd join us today Dick? Your only…an hour an twenty minuets late. Congratulations, that's by far your best time. Do you know how many applied for this job? Many had better resumes then yours, your references we're a little shady too, but I looked past all that. I had a hunch, however, now I'm beginning to think my hunch was wrong." He took off his large glasses and rubbed his temple as though trying to ease the pain of a head ach.

"Look, I know I was late Chief, my alarm didn't go off, and then there was a phone call, I promise it won't happen again." He hated making these excuses. Hated acting like he needed others help, when in reality, he knew he did.

"Look Dick, sorry just doesn't cut it anymore. You've seen what's been happening around here lately, I need someone who's on their toes at all times. It could cost you your own life if you space off while on patrol. Or worse, you could cost a college their life if you're late getting to the scene." To Dartmore's credit, he looked sad with his choice, as if he wasn't loosing an employ, but a friend.

"Please! I won't screw this up again, really, I won't! I'll get a sitter, I'll leave early, I'll…" He couldn't afford to loose this job, he'd loose his apartment, he'd lose the ability to care for Alec, they'd take him away. _Oh God, what have I done!_

The Chief sighed, whether or not it was from the tiring morning or the pleading, Robin didn't know.

"I'm truly sorry about this Dick, but its for your own safety. For that boy of yours, he needs his dad to be alive, not shot by some scumbag. You can pick up your last pay check from Miss. Dune." The phone rang and Robin knew the conversation was over, he sighed as he stood and headed out of the office.

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Robin didn't bother calling a cab, not that he could afford one, but rather, he contemplated his life as it fell apart around him. Sure, he could find another job, but not one that paid as well meaning he couldn't afford his apartment. And if he couldn't afford his apartment, he'd have to move, meaning he wouldn't have the services of Mrs. Kraft. Without Mrs. Kraft he'd have to find a baby sitter, something else he couldn't afford…

_They'd take him in…_He hated thinking like that. He hated asking others for help and he didn't think he could bare to give up the only thing worth living for. Even if he would be giving him to his friends. _If their still my friends…How could I of treated them so badly?_

But surely, they were good people; they'd always help someone in need. They wouldn't be happy with helping him, but he knew they couldn't possible turn down Alec…

_No. _He thought, he couldn't do that to them. He'd walked out, he'd lied, and he'd left her. He couldn't just knock on the door, introduce them to his son, and act like he deserved help. He didn't deserve anything after what he'd done.

He would make this work, he had too. He could get two jobs; he was use to not sleeping anyway. Just as long as he…

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a siren pass by. He began to run after it, following his instinct before he realized he was no longer responsible for the safety of the city. However, he now had an uneasy feeling about him, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to shake the dread.

Robin quickened his pace, his shoes made a thud as they hit the puddles from the night rain. Suddenly, he was overcome with a feeling that if he didn't get home soon, something terrible would happen.

Or maybe, it already had.

REVIEW! PLEASE? I'll give you a cookie. :)


	3. Desperate Measures

AN: Still don't own them

Desperate Measures

With surprising speed he ran, past run down shops and dark alleys. Not stopping for cars, one particular truck came dangerously close to hitting the man. The driver skidded to stop at the last possible second, honked his horn and cursed. Robin paid him no mind though made a mental note to look both ways before dashing across another intersection.

_Three more blocks, two more blocks, one more block, oh God…_

His breathing slowed, his heart stopped, his feat seemed planted to the sidewalk. Here, was his apartment building, on the second floor Alec would be taking a nap while Mrs. Kraft watched Jeopardy and yelled at the stupid contestants while making Macaroni and Cheese.

He was going into shock. _But Alec can't sleep with all the sirens… _And at that moment, he was no longer planted to the sidewalk, his heart beat accelerated to a rapid amount, and he felt panic. Panic like he had never felt before. He felt as though he couldn't move, but if he stayed still he might explode, and so he tore through front door, brushed past two police officers talking to the tenanted of apartment A4, ignored the yells for him to stop, and dashed up the stairs with speed that he himself wasn't quite sure was possible.

Then, he stopped cold.

His apartment, or what was left of it, was a wreck. His couch was slit by what looked to be some sort of razor blade, his cheap reading lamp would never again give light, and his once light blue cabinets were now mangled and torn off their hinges. All the plates, smashed, all the silver wear was lying about in heaps where the drawers had been dumped. But Robin wasn't concerned about the state of his dining wear.

_Alec, where's Alec, I can't find him, where is he!_

He suddenly became aware of a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see a kind faced older officer who he remotely recognized. He didn't know him personally, but had heard the man was called in to deal with young children because of his compassionate nature; apparently he could make a child forget about the trouble by doing animal interpretations.

"You're the owner of the apartment, correct?"

"Where's, I mean, where is my…" _This is ridiculous! You've dealt with things like this everyday of your life! Think clearly! _Only before, it had never been his house, and his son.

"I mean, yes, I own this apartment, my son he was…" The officer interrupted him.

"Oh right, the young boy. Don't worry, he's fine. He and the older woman were out at the time of the…incident. Please sir, can you answer a few of my…" But all Robin heard was 'He's fine'.

_He's fine, Alec's safe, thank God, who would do this!_ Suddenly the feelings of worry and panic turned to those of anger and rage. Who would attack his family? Or better yet, why would anyone attack his family? Did they know who he really was? They couldn't…

"Can I see Alec? My son I mean? Where is he?" He was rambling again; he really needed to work on talking during these situations. _Then again, _he thought, _it's not like I get much practice._

The older officer only nodded, realizing that trying to get information would be pointless until he had seen for himself that his son was safe. He pointed in the direction the den. Robin nodded in appreciation and began walking towards the room, careful to avoid the over turned chair.

He looked into the room to see three officers questioning a tired looking Mrs. Kraft. Slightly to her left sat Alec on one of the view pieces of undamaged furniture next to a gentle looking woman. He wasn't crying, but Robin could clearly tell that he was scared and confused. He wasn't responding to the woman's attempts to cheer him up by offering candy, a sure sign something was wrong with the boy.

Robin called out his name softly. The boy jerked his head around, and when seeing it was his daddy, jumped off the seat and ran towards Robin. The slightly surprised woman turned shortly after Alec ran off to see father and son embrace.

"Daddy, why are your friends all here and why is the house all messy? I didn't make that big of mess…" Robin laughed when he'd referred to all of the police as his friends. That's what he used to call them when Alec was little as to not confuse the boy.

"I'm so glad your okay, your not hurt are you? Your fine right?" He was now checking the three year old's body for injury.

"Daddy! Your tickling me! Why would I be hurt? I didn't run or nothing, and I was holding Mrs. Kraft's hand when we crossed the street and everything!" Robin smiled at his son's innocents. Had he ever been that naïve himself? He couldn't remember…

His reminiscing was interrupted however, when the same officer from earlier returned, apparently anxious to get his information.

"Excuse me sir, but do you have any idea of who would do this? Does anyone perhaps hold a grudge against you?" Robin laughed to himself.

_Yeah, half the criminal population of the world. _However, he didn't feel like giving this man his life's story. So, he lied, it was after all, what he was good at.

"No, I can't think of anyone right now. Please? Is there anyway I could get with you later and answer your questions? I'd like to clean up." _Just get these people out of my house!_

The man sighed a bit, most likely because he was tired of dealing with this case. However, his wife was making his favorite dish tonight, and he was anxious to get home.

"Oh coarse, the department will call you first thing tomorrow. We'll need your work and phone number." He took out a pad of paper prepared to write down the information.

"You guys already have both. I work….I er… used to work down at the station." He cringed once again remembering he financial situation.

Closing his pad of paper he shook Robins hand and gave the word to the rest of the police to begin moving out. Slowly, the men began putting their equipment into various bags. Soon, only Robin, Alec, and Mrs. Kraft were left. He turned to look at the visibly shaken woman.

"How are you?" He couldn't begin to thank the woman for watching his son, and now he had put her life in danger, what does one say to a person like that?

"I'm very relieved we weren't here at the time. Alec wanted to feed the birds at the park, we would have been home sooner but there was one little robin that seemed to take an interest in Alec. I think that robin very well might of saved our lives."

Robin was a bit shocked the irony of that. So a small robin had saved his son's life, while he hadn't even been aware of danger.

He looked around his apartment, completely in ruins. He looked at his life, it, much the same, was completely in ruins. He looked at the woman who had been through so much today. She was visibly tired, yet was remaining strong. He couldn't put her in danger anymore. He looked at his son. Innocent and beautiful, so far untouched by the evils of the world he lived in. He would do whatever it took to have it remain like that.

This was it; he had come to the end of the road and run out of options. As much as he hated it, he had no other choice.

_It's time to go see the team._

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Well? What do ya' think so far? I know there are many, many, typos. I'm very sorry about this. I do try my best, but spelling has always been my worst subject. Hehe, I guess I never pointed it out, but this IS my first fic.

And looky here, I got reviews! YAY! Thank you all so much, and now for your enjoyment, I shall respond!

xDarkWingx- Glad you thought that last bit was funny, sadly, I can't promise too much humor in the next chapters.

Novus Questus- Thanks so much for the complements, but even more so thank you for bringing all the errors to my attention. Please excuse those mistakes, I'll do my best to fix them.

Moreta Lynx- Thanks for the review! I like your bio.

Fairyalexa- Is the fact that Alec reminds you of your 5th grade teachers son a good thing? I hope so. I read your story, it was very funny. Thanks for the review!

MeteoraGirl27- I'm really glad you find the plot interesting. Please, if you have any suggestions for a summery, feel free to e-mail me.

Secondchild02- Heh, I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out who Alec's mom is.

Kmkoolj2010- I'm really glad you like the story! Keep reviewing!

Ryan L. Spradling- Very original screen name. Nah, just kidding, mine isn't any better. Glad you think my story is decent.

Flames of the Sun- Wait…do you mean 'update'? Because if you do, your in luck. Also, I'm very honored to have cliffhangers worthy of complaining about. Means I'm doing my job.

GreenMariain777- Wow. Thank you SO much for the complements, though really I'm just trying to see if I'm any good plot wise and such in this story. It doesn't really portray my writing ability very well.

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS! You keep them coming, I keep the story going.

(And yes, I enjoy writing, its summer, I'm bored, and I'm review hungry, that's why the updates are fast.)


	4. Memories

Disclaimer. Don't own em'

Sacrifices: Memories

He was awoken early to a pounding on a door. Well, early for him anyway, in reality it was just a little after 3p.m, and he still had another hour until his alarm clock was set to go off. _Why is no one getting that!_

He rolled over and put his pillow over his head in order to stop the noise from reaching his ears. It didn't work.

_That's it! I'm going to go see why the others aren't doing anything about this racket!_

With that the green man rolled out of bed. If one had been in his room, they would have been quite disturbed. It certainly wasn't the cleanest room in the world, the floor covered in items of clothing and various empty bags of chips. However, perhaps this was for the better, as what was under the clutter was far worse. Though, no one really knew for sure, they were all too afraid to check. Perhaps the most noticeable feature of the room was the smell, a mix between dirty socks, stale food, and another, unrecognizable stench.

Add to all of this a man of greenish tent, standing in the middle of the room wearing nothing but Ninja Turtle boxers, and you were in for quite a shock.

He stood there for a moment, getting his bearings before heading out into the hall. That infernal pounding was still heard, echoing throughout the tower like an earthquake. He was pretty sure that all the other Titans were home, so he couldn't figure out why no one was getting the blasted door.

_It's probably pay back for putting pink hair dye in Ravens shampoo…_

Well that was it. There was no need to get him up this early just for revenge. They could of done that while he was awake.

Completely forgetting the door, he set off to find Cyborg to complain too. Cyborg had become the new team leader after 'Scumbag', as they so fondly referred to him, ran out.

The entire tower seemed to be empty, the main room wasn't being used for T.V watching, no one was making anything horrible in the kitchen, and he was almost positive they weren't in the gym, no one had gone in there sense Scumbag left. He was about to give up and just answer the door when he saw a light shining out from underneath a door.

This particular door just happened to lead to the security room. All around the tower were placed hidden cameras. Cyborg was the only one who officially knew how many, and where they were placed, but Beast Boy had a suspicion that Raven also knew, as she would block them occasionally if she didn't want people to see her meditate.

He looked into the room to find Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire all huddled around an assortment of video monitors. Beast Boy pushed himself between them, and spoke allowed.

"Why has no one answered the door? I was sleeping guys! You know that if I don't…" It was only then that he looked at the monitor, and realized why no one was in a great hurry to get the door.

"Well hell, he came back." Exclaimed Cyborg with a hint of astonishment.

"So guys…what do we do? Leave him out there in the rain so he gets sick? Because I don't like him anymore then you…but I don't want him to die…" Poor Beast Boy was caught between revenge, and an old friendship he thought he had forgotten.

"We can't leave him out there." Stated the very calm, very mellow, Raven.

"What do you think Star?" Up until now, the alien girl had been quite, he heart was racing. _Why did he come back? Does he realize the hurt he has caused his friends? Why does he return now? _

"We can't leave him out there." Repeated Raven, she was looking intently at the screen.

"Friend Raven is correct. I do not think avoiding him would be the correct option." She couldn't watch him suffer, even after what he had done.

"Really guys, we need to get him inside. He's been out there for an hour, am I the only one to have noticed he's carrying something?" _Come on guys, look at him! Do they not notice the way he's acting?_

"Yeah, its probably just a bunch of cloths or something…" Cyborg didn't understand where she was going with this, why were cloths important?

"No, look at the way he's holding it the way he hold them to it chest…"

"He's…protecting it from the rain, he's keeping it warm…Oh my God…." Starfire gasped.

"That's right, he's not holding cloths, he's holding a kid. Now Cyborg, go let them in."

"WHY ME?" He shouted.

"Because you're the leader! Now get going!" He didn't want to mess with Raven when she was ticked. He sighed and then hurried to the door.

Robin was sitting on a rock, holding Alec tightly in his arms. He had fallen asleep in the taxi ride over to the tower, for this, Robin was very thankful. It was raining lightly outside, not enough to get soaked in a matter of minuets, but when out in it for an hour like he had been, you did get rather wet. Suddenly, images began pouring into his head, much like the rain falling on it.

FLASH BACK

"_I'm taking the team underground, the government is afraid of us, and we're not going to do the city any good if we are in jail" Robin announced to the shocked Titans._

"_But, friend Robin, will this not make us criminals?" Starfire was confused, how could they stop criminals, if they themselves were the criminals?_

"_She's got a point Robin; we should really speak to the mayor about all of this…" Cyborg knew that the recent tension between super people and the law enforcement had risen, but going into hiding was not the way to handle it._

"_Guys, I've thought about this a lot and it's the only way to keep protecting people!" They had to go along with him, the city depended on it._

"_Maybe they don't need us Robin, crimes been down, maybe the age of the Titans is over…" Beast Boy hated to say it, but it was true, he loved helping people, but he could help them through other ways too, ways that didn't include hiding underground._

"_Do you guys honestly think you could get jobs doing something else? Look at us! We're freaks! Cyborg wouldn't pass a physical for any job, Raven blows something up whenever she laughs! Beast Boy your green, do you think people are actually going to look past that? The world isn't forgiving guys, it will tear you up!" He took a breath and looked at his shocked team mates._

_Starfire spoke first, "What about me Robin? Why might the world 'tear me up'?" normally the way she sounded slightly confused at his expression would have been cute, now, it was just a weakness._

"_Because Star, your so naïve, you don't know our way of life, you're an outsider, people would take advantage of you because you'd let them!" Why was he acting like this? He knew he was hurting them, he was hurting himself, but he couldn't make him self stop._

_Starfire did her best to maintain eye contact with him. She didn't want him to think she was weak, but at the thought of being an 'outsider', tears came to her eyes. _

_At that moment, his heart broke in two. And he deserved all the pain._

"_Out." That one word spoken by Cyborg was his savor. He needed out, he was a monster, he couldn't stay like this._

_With out even bothering to get his things, he walked out the door. To ashamed and too broken to even bother with slamming it._

_Unknown to him, a girl would cry that night on his behalf. _

He was snapped out of this memory. With the sounds of the door opening, he quickly wiped away a tear that he wasn't aware of being there. For the first time in 5 years, he saw his old friend and teammate, Cyborg.

"Your wet." Was all the man said. Robin wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, so he just stood up and faced him. He had left Alec asleep in a bundle of blankets on the ground. The only thing he had bothered to bring with him. His life depend on what Cyborg did next. Let him into the tower, or kick him back out on the streets.

However, Cyborg did neither, choosing instead to show Robin his new left hook. To Robins credit, he hardly flinched as the fist slammed his jaw. He merely wiped the blood off using his shirt.

"What do you want Robin?" Cyborg looked tired, not so much physically, but emotionally.

"A place to stay for a while, I think some people are after us." He wouldn't break eye contact, he'd stay strong, and he had to stay strong.

"You walked out on us Robin! You treated us like dirt! You called us freaks and wanted us to break the law! Tell me, why should I let you in?"

"Please, I'm desperate, if not for me, then please, for my son."

Cyborg's jaw dropped.

Alrighty, so, now you know what happened and why Robins the jerk we all know and love. Now, because I let the review get ahead of me, I shant respond to them all, but rather answer some frequently asked questions.

Starfire is NOT the mother, incase you haven't figured it out yet. That will be coming up shortly, I think…

The cookies I promised are in the oven, I'll give you a brownie if you review this time. 

Someone asked what color Alec's hair was. I'll tell you in the next chaptered. If, you review that is

Oh, also, someone said I had cliffies. This makes me happy.

REVIEW


	5. Of Dreams and Nightmares

Disclaimer: I Still don't own them.

Sacrifices: Of dreams and nightmares.

He met their stairs with a hallow glare. Surrounded completely by his former comrades, escape was not an option. Not that he would have had it been, he was tired of running, out of options, and, as much as he hated to say it, he needed help.

Alec was asleep in Starfire's bedroom, merely for the fact it was the only one Robin would even consider leaving him alone in. Ravens would of scared the poor boy if he woke up, Cyborg wouldn't trust a three year old alone, what with all of his expensive technology, and the known fact that three year olds enjoy touching. And Robin wasn't about to submit his some to unknown disease in Beast Boy's room.

Thus, he was alone, in a room, with people who hated him, and wanted an explanation, of everything. He wasn't sure he could do that, even if he was perfectly willing to spill his life's story over the past seven years, which, he was not.

Flashes ran through his mind, _Darkness, screams, running_, then thoughts starting going through his mind, to accompany the images. _Stop the screaming! Have to run faster! Just make that screaming stop, gotta run faster, faster, faster, I'm too late…_

He was snapped back to reality with Raven's voice in his ear.

"So, you going to tell us who your friend is and why he's in Starfires bed?" She looked pensively into Robins eyes.

"His name is Alec, he's my son, we're here because our house was broken into, and I don't think they found what they wanted." This was the part he dreaded, the part that had to admit weakness.

"Who's his mother?" Interrupted Starfire, she had grown sense Robin had last seen her, they all had. Though, perhaps to him she had changed in the most ways. Not physically, but a higher level of emotion could be seen in her eyes. Maturity, realization, hope, joy, excitement, confusion, hurt, betrayal…

He knew he was responsible for this, he knew it was his own fault for braking things up. And the entire discussion was useless, the very next week congress had passed the "Superhero protection act" stating that any superhero/super team, could continue to protect a designated city, with support from law enforcement.

He had walked out on his friends for nothing.

"Robin, who, and where is Alec's mother?" She sounded very gentle, as if she was afraid she might brake him if she yelled. He almost couldn't stand to hear the compassion in her voice, he wanted her to yell, he wanted to feel the pain he had caused her, he wanted to feel….

"She's dead."

After a moment of hesitation, Raven spoke.

"You can stay here if you wish. Though I think I speak for the team when I say we are doing this purely to protect a child, not to show you forgiveness." A short glimmer of hurt flashed through Robin's eyes before he nodded.

"I understand."

There was silence. No one wanting to make the first move, all feeling as though if they spoke they'd begin to argue, which, very well might have been true. Tensions were high, tempers were flaring, yet no one was quite sure of the situation in which they found themselves.

Beast Boy, wanting desperately to things be like they were in the old days, figured they could use food. After all, food always helped him feel better.

"Any body up for waffles? I can put chocolate chips and mustard in them." He looked pleadingly at Cyborg, who just looked down, then at Raven who glared at him, then he glanced over at Robin who was so caught up in his thoughts that Beast Boy doubted he had heard the question.

Starfire, however, felt sorry for her green friend. Plus, mustard sounded absolutely delightful at the moment.

"I would love to partake in your waffles! Will you put extra mustard in mine?" Beast Boy smiled, happy that his plan had worked, looking to Raven he asked if she might also benefit from a blackberry waffle.

"Beast Boy, I really don't…" Suddenly there was a cry. Only Robin sprung up, knowing the sound. The others looked at each other confused before remembering there was a young child asleep in the other room.

"Is something wrong? Is there an intruder? I didn't hear the alarm…" Cyborg was asking Robin in a worried tone, if there had been a breach in security then it was his own fault for not monitoring more closely.

"No, I'm sure everything's fine. He probably just had another nightmare and is confused. I'll go explain to him now." He stood up to go, but Starefire stopped him.

"I will accompany you. You make it sound as though he has had more nightmares?" Seeing the nod that Robin gave her she continued. "On Tameran, we had a song we'd sing to the young ones when they did the thing called 'Sleep Living', perhaps that would help Alec?"

Robin smiled; glad she was willing to talk to him, even if it was only to ask permission.

The whaling grew louder as they neared Starfire's room. As they entered the room, Robin saw Alec sitting in the middle of a cluster of blankets, tears stained his face.

Robin went over and held him in his arms. "Shhhh, everything's fine. Daddy's here, it was just a dream."

Alec began to quite down when he spotted Starfire. "Hi." He said very softly, still recovering from his scare.

Starfire smiled at the young boy. He really did look like Robin, with his jet black messy hair. "Hi. Did you have a bad dream?" She asked very softly as to not scare him. Sitting down on the bed next to him, she couldn't help but ruffle his hair.

Alec nodded shyly. "Sometimes it helps me if I tell people about my bad dreams." It was a trick her mother had used. Somehow she always felt better afterwards.

Alec looked unsure at the idea, but starting speaking none the less. He liked this strange looking girl.

"I was looking for Daddy, but I couldn't find him. Then there was this really big room," Alec held out his hands to show how big, "And there was a giant birdie cage in it. Only, I didn't see any birdies, I started crying because I couldn't find Daddy, but then I saw him in the cage. He was asleep but he didn't wake up when I yelled, then a big man with a mask grabbed me and told me that Daddy wasn't going to wake up…" He crawled into Robins lap for reassurance that he was there.

Something about this didn't seem like a normal dream to Starfire. "Alec, what kind of mask was the man wearing?"

Alec looked up at her as though this was the stupidest question ever asked in the history of the world. "A bad one, I think it was broked because it only covered have his face." He then went back to snuggling Robin.

Starfire and Robin looked at each other, and almost at the same time said,

"Slade"

Well, there ya go. The plot thickens. I don't really like this chapter, but I figured I needed to update as to not tick of the very kind reviewers. Who I actually have!

So, perhaps I answered some of your questions, perhaps I created some more? Let me know in one of your much appreciated reviews!

I'd respond to them all, but I don't know if that's going overboard in the long AN's or what. And I don't want to freak you all out by e-mailing you, so I must just tell you now,

THANK YOU!

Sorry for the mistakes, very little editing. 2a.m morning, you get the picture


	6. Regretful Words

WARNING! May be some language and stuffs! So, yep.

Disclaimer: Don't own them

Sacrifices: Regretful Words

Over all, the titans were adjusting to their young protégé' extremely well, considering none of them had ever spent much time with children of Alec's age. Cyborg was busy trying to teach Alec the basics of molecular power systems, saying that it was important he be introduced to technology at a young age. Beast Boy was more then willing to change into any animal for the enjoyment of the young boy, happy someone finally saw his abilities as amusing.

Raven was the only one who's food he'd eat. She had an uncanny ability to know just what he'd eat, which wasn't to surprising sense it consisted of pancakes and chicken. However, it was her knack at never letting anything on his plate touch each other that Alec was really thrilled with.

Though, perhaps it was Starfire who enjoyed the boy's presence the most. Her maternal instincts were kicked into high gear ever sense Alec had his nightmare, and she found her self growing closer and closer to the boy everyday. He called her 'Stary', finding her full name to be too long and difficult to say. She was the only, much to Robin's dismay, one which could get him to eat at least one vegetable, with the promise of a bedtime story that night.

It was the older arrival of the two that the titans we're having difficulties adjusting too. For one, they still had not forgiven him for leaving all those years ago, and for that, he could not blame them. Second, Robin's place in the tower was now gray. He had to resist giving orders now that he was no longer leader, nor even a member of the Titans. The 'Teen' had been dropped long ago.

And so, Robin did nothing. He'd get up very early, as to not wake Alec, and sneak out of his old room, which had previously been used as Cyborg's laboratory, thus attributing to the odd smells, and go to the roof to work out.

He would of much rather gone to the gym, but unfortunately, you needed an access code to do so and he didn't want to ask Cyborg about it. The two one time friends were now extremely cold to each other, only acting civil in front of the other Titans. Soon, Robin new, the tension would boil over and the half robot would unleash all his hidden fury on him.

And Robin was just waiting for it, completely ready, completely willing to submit himself to whatever the new leader had to say, he knew he deserved it.

He heard the door to the roof open, he remained facing the direction he was looking towards, not bothering to turn and look at the person walking up behind him. He didn't need to; he already knew who would be there. Suddenly the figure stopped, directly behind where Robin was sitting.

"We need to talk." Was all he said.

"I know." Robin turned around to face the man he had once called his best and most trusted, friend. "Cyborg, I know…"

"You don't know shit Robin!" He put his hands against Robins chest. "You don't know what it was like trying to deal after you left!" Cyborg began pushing Robin backwards, "Did you have to deal with the press? Did you stay up at night wondering if the city would fall because of one decision you made? Did you have to pretend to be brave and lie to your friends about how you _knew everything would be okay_?" He pushed Robin to the ground.

"You didn't have to deal with any of that shit! You just ran out, acting like the bastard you are! You probably never even cared about us! You never cared about Star! Hell, I don't know if you care about anyone but your selfish self! Like who the hell is Alec's mom? Some slut you met on the street? What? You get a little careless? She run off and leave you with Alec and your too ashamed to say that so your told us all she was dead?"

He regretted saying that less then an instant it left his mouth. He wanted to hurt the man, wanted to make him feel the guilt he should of felt plus time times more. He wanted Robin to be sorry. But never, never did he want to insult a man's son. Never would he of thought himself capable of stooping to such a low level. How could he of…

Then WAM, Cyborg was down. He looked up to see Robin above him; eye's glowing in a rage that Cyborg had never before seen in a human. Another punch to his stomach, they were hard, powerful punches, that seemed to come from somewhere within Robin.

Cyborg took the first few without a fight, though after one particular punch that came very close to hitting his head, he began to fight back. He moved his leg to wrap around Robin's back and flipped the man.

Cyborg was now pinning Robin down under him, as the one time boy wonder looked up into his eyes. The rage was gone, replaced with a questioning look, as if to say _Why? Why would you say that?_

But look was only there briefly as Robin kneed Cyborg in the groin, causing Cyborg's grip on him to loosen enough so he could flip himself upright.

It was done with such ease, that had Cyborg not been busied with his…injury, he would of wondered how the man had managed to stay in such prime fighting shape. However, as it was, Cyborg brushed it off, and glared at the man now standing near the doorway.

"Never insult that which you know nothing about. Especially, sense what you said was all bull shit. All of that shit about dealing with the press, acting brave when you were scared, having the weight of the world on your shoulders, I dealt with ALL OF THAT. You know nothing about my life from the past seven years! How dare you speak of it as if you were in a position to judge! It's apparent you don't want me here, so I'll just get Alec and go!"

Before Cyborg to say anything, Robin was already headed back into the tower to find his son and to get out. It had been a bad idea to try and return to this place, he was unwelcome and only causing problems. Most of what Cyborg had said was out of rage and hate, but there was a degree of truth to them.

He did run out, and he shouldn't be allowed to come back.

He entered the living room to see Alec and Beast Boy playing a game of Candy Land, by the looks of things Alec was winning.

"Alec, can you go pick out two toys and put them in a bag?" He needed to leave, and he needed to do so quickly, he didn't have room for everything.

"But Daddy, I was playin a game…"

"Now Alec, we're going."

At this point Beast Boy turned around and yelled, "What! You just got back and now your leaving? Come on Robin, you can't keep doing this…" Alec was looking confused as to why his Daddy and his new friend were arguing…

"Alec, honey, you need to go get your toys now, I need to talk to the grown ups." Alec just nodded, before slowly getting up and heading to his room.

"Why?" Was all Beast Boy stuttered.

"This was a mistake, I appreciate letting us stay, but I can see that my presence here is just casing trouble. I'm of no use to you; I'm just taking up space. I'm going to take Alec and leave."

Starfire, who was in the kitchen preparing apple sauce with some secret Tameran ingredient of hers, walked into the room to see what all the commotion was about. When she heard Robin says the words "I'm going to take Alec and leave" she almost fainted.

Lucky for her, she didn't faint, however, she did scream.

Robin and Beast Boy turned to see the woman looking slightly embarrassed, but most of all angry.

"Starfire…" Began Robin, but was interrupted.

"No, don't talk to me. You think you can walk out on us, brake my heart, then show up seven years later with a son and a past you can't, or maybe just won't, explain, then expect to talk to me! Now, now you want to just walk out on us all again? Not to mention how stupid that is of you!" She normally wouldn't of thought of every saying something like this to him, but she had held it in for seven years, and he was being foolish and was about to put Alec in danger.

He was silent for a moment before responding, "Stupid?"

Starfire sighed. "Robin, I know you love your son, more then you love anything else. So please listen to my words. You came to us because you needed our help correct? You believe that Alec is in danger and you need us to protect him…"

"I can protect Alec!" Robin interrupted, "I would die protecting him!"

Starfire went on ignoring the interruption. "You need us to protect him when you are unable to. Robin, if Alec left with you, you would be putting him in much danger because you can not protect him alone! You need us Robin, for Alec's sake."

Robin was stopped cold. Not because of her harsh words, no, he deserved so much more then that. She was right. He couldn't protect Alec on his own. He'd have to make money somehow, meaning he'd have to leave Alec. He couldn't risk leaving him with a sitter, he'd seen what harm that could cause, but…no, he couldn't possibly stay here.

"I…I can't stay here Star."

She cringed at the use of the informal name. It seemed so forgotten to hear him call her that. She looked down before speaking.

"I'm…I'm sorry Robin, I don't know what happened to make you feel like that…but, do what's right for you son."

He couldn't think clearly. She was asking him to…but, he couldn't. He hadn't left Alec alone more then two days in his entire life. He couldn't even think about leaving him with the Titans for a long period of time. But, then again, he'd kill himself if anything happened to Alec, and the Titans were the only people he would trust to take care of him… He had no choice. He'd have to leave Alec for a while, only until he could figure out what Slade was planning, and if that took longer then a week, so help him…

Just then, Alec came walking into a room dragging behind him his yellow blanket that he fondly referred to as "Blanky". He looked up at Robin and smiled softly.

"Okay Daddy, I'm ready. I gots my Blanky and a book, I left all the new toys because you said I could only pick two things. But I don't want to leave Daddy! Stary hasn't read me this one yet…" He held out the book he was holding.

Robin could feel the tears coming to his eyes as he looked at his son. He bent down so he could be on Alec's level.

"Actually, Sweetie, we aren't going to leave after all…" Alec's blue eye's immediately lit up.

"Really, Daddy? That's good because I was tired of moving and Raven's food tastes better then those things in trays you make, and Beast Boy was teaching me how to plays baseball but I'm not very good…will you practice with me later?"

God, what was Robin doing? He couldn't bear to leave him…but he knew it was the only way to insure his safety.

"Alec, Daddy's going to be going away for a little while, but I'll be back real soon! I promise!" Alec looked a bit confused, then smiled.

"Okay Daddy, so can we play baseball after dinner?"

Robin could feel the tears threatening to fall, and then looked lovingly at his son.

"No, sweetie, your going to be staying with your friends for a while, Daddy needs to go out and do some big people things. But remember I love you very much."

"But Daddy! Who's going to tuck me in? And keep the monsters away while I sleep? Blanky gets scared when he's by himself…do you hafta go?"

"Sweetie, I'll only be gone for a little while, and you're going to have so much fun here with everyone! You like it here don't you?"

Alec didn't look so sure about having fun anymore, he was starting to cry.

"But Daddy! I don't want you to go! Why do you have to go Daddy? Why do you hafta go?" He was now baling his eyes out, Starfire was beginning to walk over.

"Alec, I promise I won't be gone long. I have to go fight the bad monsters, and I can't take you with me, besides Beast Boy wants someone to play games with."

"But Daddy! I can help you with the monsters! I can hides real well and won't get in the way or nothing! And Beast Boy is really bad at Candy Land anyway! Please don't go Daddy!"

Starfire reached the boy and picked him up.

"Robin, you can stay, really, no one will mind…" She was having a hard time watching father and son depart, and thought that everyone could just work together…

"No, Star, your right. I need to focus on finding Slade and if I'm not around, Alec will be much safer. Please, can he sleep in your room? And he doesn't like loud noises, and he gets scared when it storms…"

"Robin it's no problem, we all love him here, he's in good hands."

Robin glanced at the hands he was currently in and couldn't help but think that she was right. No matter how badly he wanted to grab Alec away and hug him forever, he knew he had to leave, he knew he had to trust them.

"Alec, can you be a big boy for daddy?"

Alec remand crying, but nodded his head. "Daddy, please don't go, I promise I'll be better! Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to spill my chocolate milk last night, please don't go!"

Robin's heart broke. "No, sweetie, you didn't do anything wrong, Daddy just needs you to be safe for a little while. I love you very much, you know that right?"

Alec nodded his head.

Robin leaned in a kissed him on the cheek, then began making his way towards the door. He couldn't bear to look back; he knew if he did he wouldn't be able to walk out.

_I'm doing it again, I'm leaving. _Only this time he knew he had a purpose, he would find Slade, and make him pay for putting his family in danger.

Behind Robin, Starfire was struggling to hold Alec as he was squirming in her arms. Soon, the boy got free and ran to Robin, latching on to his leg.

"Daddy don't go! Please don't leave me! I don't want you go!" The words were barley recognizable behind the tears he was crying.

Robin bent over and took the boy in his arms. They embraced for along moment, all the while Robin whispering in his ear "I'll be back, I love you" Over and over again.

Starfire appeared before them, and Robin knew what he had to do. Prying the boy off his chest, he handed the bundle to Starfire. Alec's whales got louder, though he didn't try to struggle.

Robin kissed him on the head one time more, then turned the door knob and walked out the Titans front door for the second time, leaving behind more then he had the first.

Behind that door stood two people whose heart he had broken, the smaller of which quietly spoke,

"Goodbye Daddy."

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HAPPY 4th of July Everyone! Well, there you have it, Chapter 6

So, what do you think? Did I take people too far out of character? I tired to imagine how Starfire would react given time and motive. I don't think she's still the naïve girl of the series. If you have any suggestions on how to make Alec seem more three year old like they would be very much appreciated. I want to make him a innocent /intelligent/cute, little kid, but I spend no time around little kids, so I have really big issues involving the way they talk and such.

Also, I hope you don't think I'm bashing Cyborg, I really just think the things he said were in spur of the moment. I have nothing against him, I just think he'd be the one to act on his anger.

Again, I've never written a fight scene, so that mini Cyborg Robin scuffle was the closest I've come. How'd I do? Boring and confusing? Please tell me.

I know Raven wasn't in this much. I didn't forget about her, just didn't know how to put her in….Suggestions? Please tell.

Reviews are so incredible welcomed! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! You're awesome!


	7. Pain and Loneliness

Disclaimer: Don't own them, anyone else tired of hearing me say that?

Sacrifices: Pain and Loneliness

He didn't bother avoiding the puddles, the extra effort to side step the pools of water no longer seemed necessary. In fact, very little seemed necessary anymore, not sense he had left two days ago. No longer did he care about eating, sleeping, or his own well being, but rather he focused all his energies into detective work.

In a sense, it was good that Robin no longer cared for eating; he had no money for the novelty anyway. All that he had saved was put into renting a small 'hell hole', as he liked to refer to the apartment he had obtained. Though it did have some finer points, such as the fact no one would be questioning him why he left at all hours of the night, seeing as the other tenets did the same thing.

It was a sort of, don't ask don't tell policy. And Robin wasn't planning on doing either.

Robin sighed, it had been a long day of dead ends and false leads, and his lack of food and sleep was beginning to take a toile. The street sign to his left told him he still had a good hours walk before reaching his…place of residence, and at the moment, he just didn't feel up to it.

Removing his drenched old baseball cap he had been wearing in hopes of keeping a low profile, he sat on the cold, damp, Jump City sidewalk, in a part of town in which it was death wish to be out after dark.

By his unofficial calculations, he had 15 minuets before dark.

Yep, he was screwed.

Burying his face in his hands he tried to clear his mind and regroup his strength. His thoughts were racing, jumping from subject to subject in a frenzy of emotion and memory. He didn't need this now, he couldn't deal with now, he couldn't afford these memories now.

He needed to focus; he needed to stay in control. _Control_ it was control that had gotten him into this whole thing in the first place. His control of the Titans, his bad judgment, his temper, everything happening was his fault. _All my fault…_

If he could only go back…

A man walking by stopped briefly in front of Robin and reached inside his coat pocket fumbling for something . Robin watched the man intently, waiting for a sign of trouble. There was a good chance this man was working for Slade, or even just a regular gangster wanting to rob him. Robin, not willing to submit himself for a confrontation, braced himself for a long sprint.

The man suddenly pulled out what looked to be a wallet, lent down and placed what looked to be a five dollar bill in Robin's hat that happened to be lying in front of him.

Robin began to protest that he wasn't a beggar when he realized that perhaps for the first time he actually needed it. The man quickly walked off and disappeared around a corner.

The rain began to fall from the sky, quickly soaking the young man, but Robin didn't mind. He was letting his emotions become one with the rain, rushing off him and into the storm pipe, the sky felt his pain, his sorrow, and Robin was glad for that.

In the distance a woman screamed. Robin winced. There was no point in trying to help her, by the time he found where she was she'd already be beaten, or raped, or dead. No, there was nothing he could do for her. She was lost…

_Lost_

_A scream in the night, a man in black running, almost flying as though he was a bird, trying with all his might to get to the place of that scream._

_Faster, he had to go faster; tree branches flew in his face as if deliberately wanting to stop him. Wanting him to fail…but he couldn't fail! Her life depended on him reaching her in time, he had to._

_Harder, he had to run harder. He wasn't going to make it in time; he wasn't going to save her. "Oh please God, let me go faster" But things seemed to slow down for him, his legs didn't want to move the way his mind commanded them, his body didn't turn the corner like he wanted it to, everything was so slow…_

_Silence; no longer was he breathing as he looked upon the scene. There she was, her eyes once so blue where now full of fear. _

_His heart, it was braking…no longer did it beat, no longer did he swell with joy and pride, but left a hollow, maddening feeling in his chest. _

_Two men, one holding her by her small neck, with his right hand, a gun in his left, her fragile life in both. The other man stood directly in front of Robin, this man too also had a gun. This one, pointed at him._

_He couldn't care less. His attention was focused on the woman, how could he of done this to her…_

"_So you decided to show up." Snarled the man in front of Robin, "Took you long enough, I'd think you care to move a bit faster when it comes to the safety of your wife."_

_Robin's vanes burst with anger and furry, "Let her go, it's me you want."_

_Gunman smiled that sick, sick smile of a man only out for blood. "You know, your right."_

_Two gun shots later, everything was over._

Robin's head snapped up. Another scream, closer this time, another life lost…No, not if he could help it. He wouldn't let it happen again. Jumping to his feet he ran in the direction of the sound.

His speed picked up as he rounded the corner, he was getting closer, he could hear the sounds of a struggle as he entered the ally way.

It was like he had traveled back in time. Two men, both wearing ski masks to hid their identity, and gloves to make any fingerprinting impossible, holding one woman against the wall, trying to take what little valuables she might have.

One of the men turned to look at Robin and clumsily pulled out his gun. It was apparent he hadn't done this often and was inexperienced.

"_We're going to get along nicely_" Thought Robin.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" Screamed the one holding the gun a bit awkwardly, Robin ignored him, quickly bringing his leg up to deliver a roundhouse kick to the man's head.

He crumpled to the floor in a heap, dropping his gun in the process. Robin didn't bother with it though, instead turning his attention to the man holding the woman.

The second gunman had now also turned his attention to Robin also. This man looked more experienced then the last and Robin knew he'd be more difficult to handle, especially sense he now had to worry about the safety of another.

The man grabbed the girl around the waste, pulling her tightly to his side, and pointed the gun directly at Robin's forehead.

_Think clearly. _It's what he had always been taught, act hastily and you might find yourself dead. He could easily grab the gun and turn it away from himself before the man noticed, however that would put the woman in danger. If he dodged the man would shoot, and there was no guarantee Robin wouldn't be in the way of the bullet…

"YOU BITCH!"

Robin was snapped out of his musings to see the man who had formerly been holding the gun to his head, now holding a more sensitive body part of his own. From the looks of it, the woman had taken matters into her own hand and kneed the man in the groin while his attentions were focused elsewhere. Robin almost smiled as he took advantage of the situation, and quickly delivered a hit to the head that would leave the man unconscious. He almost smiled until he noticed a panicked look on the woman's face.

"It's alright, your safe." He tried to sound reassuring, but something in the back of his mind was nagging him…

She shook her head violently, and for the first time he noticed she was gagged. He moved closer to undue the cloth around her mouth when she began shouting unrecognizable words. He drew closer, carefully removing the gag when suddenly her shouts became recognizable.

"BEHIND YOU!"

He was momentarily confused before he remembered the first gunman. He cursed as he spun around to face him.

But it was too late.

A loud noise, a piercing scream that was not his own, and searing pain was the last thing he knew before the welcoming darkness filled his being.

Across town a young boy woke up screaming.

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You like? I find that when I leave you guys with either a good twist or a good cliff I get more reviews. And how I love reviews…

I know, this chapter featured amazingly none of the characters but Robin, and I'm really very sorry about that. Though I do think that some background was needed, confusing background, but background all the same.

However, I do promise at least Raven and maybe the others in the next chapter.

To all of you who sent suggestions and feedback I am so incredible thrilled and honored. You're the only reason I haven't lost interest in this.

This next bit goes out to GreenMartian777 for her amazing review that provided much needed assistants that I will be using in the next chapters.

If anyone has anything ideas they think would work for this story, or think they have written a story that I would be interested in, I'd love to hear it. So drop a line and review!

(oh, and I kinda didn't edit this at all…so I'm sure that's very apparent, speed and quality don't go hand it hand)

Thanks!


	8. A Connection

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans and all the other good money makers

Sacrifices: A connection

Raven shot out of bed, all was quite, she could see nothing wrong, so what had woken her up? Had it been a bad dream? No, she had been able to work through most of those…So what had caused the empath girl to awake?

And then she heard it, a child cry in the night. She almost returned to bed, thinking Alec was only being a bit fussy, Starfire could handle that.

Then it hit her.

Pain, the boy was in pain like no child should ever feel. If she hadn't been able to control her abilities the way she could, she suspected she would also feel great pain of the young child. That must have been why she woke up, in her semi-unconscious state she wasn't in complete control.

She quickly dressed in her dark cloak and ran into the hallway. There, she saw light shining from underneath Starefire's door. As she grew closer, the wails of pain grew louder, but another sound became recognizable. A soft, soothing voice sang out, trying to comfort the boy.

Raven opened the door to see Starfire cradling the boy in her arms, pacing back and forth, singing softly in his ear. Alec's eyes were clamped shut, and his little brow twisted in concentration. When Starfire heard the door open, she turned to see Raven standing in the archway, looking very confused.

"I'm sorry, did he wake you? He just starting crying like this about 10minints ago…do you think it was another bad dream? He won't tell me anything…Oh Raven, I don't know what to do! He won't stop crying…" The worry in her eyes was evident as she looked at the crying child in her arms.

"Starfire, I don't think it was a bad dream…Does he sound in pain to you?" Starfire looked a bit shocked, as if contemplating her words carefully, and then she noticed for the first time how he was holding his hip with special care.

"Oh my God Raven, I think he's sick. And I've just been moving him around this whole time; I've been making it worse! Do we go to the hospital? Robin didn't give us any information on allergies…Oh no! What if it was my cooking! Beast Boy always says it is dangerous…."

"What does Beast Boy always say?" Came a groggy voice from the hallway. Raven and Starfire turned to see the half awake changeling wearing a pair of smiley faced boxers.

"We think Alec's sick." Replied Raven

"What does this have to do with anything I say?" He walked over to Starfire to examine the boy.

"Oh Beast Boy! You were correct in saying my cooking was deadly! I have infected Alec with the poisoning!"

Beast Boy looked very confused until Raven decided it was time to end the alien's panic attack.

"Starfire," she said very calmly, though in reality she was worried about the amount of pain Alec was feeling, "I do not think your cooking caused Alec's trouble. Beast Boy, I need you to go get Cyborg and tell him that we need to go the hospital pronto."

"No worries, I'm already here." The three Titans turned to look at Cyborg who was now also standing in the doorframe looking confused.

"Did his cries wake you up too?" Asked Starfire who was now just stroking Alec's hair soothingly.

"Nope, when I sleep I'm really just charging a battery, so I don't hear anything. Nah, I was up late working on something. Now what's this about going to the hospital?" He walked over to where Starfire had set Alec on the bed and picked up the boy.

Almost on contact Alec's cries grew louder and the boy began breathing heavily. Cyborg quickly set him back down.

"He really doesn't like me, just like his dad" Remarked the half robot

"Cyborg…I don't think it has anything to do with weather or not he likes you. I think he hurts when he's moved." Cyborg looked down at the boy, then back up at Raven and gave her a confused stare.

"I know, he doesn't look injured, but he feels _injured_." After receive two very confused looks from Cyborg and Starfire, Beast Boy spoke up.

"Guys, Raven can feel our emotions, remember?" When the others slowly came to realization, Beast Boy smiled. "You see? I remember the important stuff!"

This remark was ignored as Cyborg began to comprehend the situation for the first time, "So, you're saying that Alec is actually hurting, even though we can't see anything physically wrong with him?"

Raven hesitated before responding, "Well, I can't explain why he's hurting, and I don't know what's wrong with him…But yes."

Starfire looked up, "Raven, just how badly is Alec hurting?"

There was silence as they all waited for Ravens answer.

Suddenly Alec screamed out, much louder and much more desperate then before.

"We should go now." Was all the empathy filled girl replied

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He was coming too, oh God he didn't want to come too. At least when he was unconscious the pain wasn't as bad, and when he was unconscious, he could imagine that things weren't as they were, that he was with his son, that he was with her and they were all one happy family. Though, while he had no difficulty looking at Alec's face, the woman's face was blurry, as though he had yet to make a decision. Who would complete him? Who would be that last part of his family?

A searing pain, a reached scream, who was screaming, why did it sound so close?

Oh, that was his scream, his pain. _Please let me black out!_ His mind screamed to his self-conscious. Sadly, he remained awake. Slowly, his eyes began to focus. People…there were people hovering over him. Were they talking to him? He couldn't tell…His head, it wanted to explode. He _wanted _it to, just to get ride of the pain.

He was being moved, rather, he was being lifted. He couldn't move his legs, why couldn't he move his legs? Moving his left hand, he tried to feel them, if only to reassure himself that they were still there. On the inner side of his thy, he felt sticky…why was he sticky?

Removing his hand, he slowly lifted it to his head. Glancing at it, he saw that it was covered in red.

Why was his leg red and sticky?

He was being moved into the back of a van…no, it wasn't a van, it was an ambulance. Why we're they putting him in an ambulance? Why was he sticky? Why couldn't he move his legs?

"_Why won't the pounding in my head stop?"_ He thought to himself.

Suddenly a oxygen mask was thrust upon himself, a needle was injected into his skin, and he thought no more.

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The four worried Titans rushed into the Jump City emergency room. Running up to the secretary, Cyborg demanded to see a doctor.

"Alright, what seems to be the problem sir?" The secretary was a woman in her early 40's, wearing glasses that hung on the tip on her noise.

"No, not me, him." Cyborg pointed to Alec who had surprisingly gotten quiet during the ride over.

"Very well, I'm just going to need his legal guardian to fill out these forms, in the mean time if you'll put him on that gurney we can have a doctor take a look at him right away. Because he is a child, one of you will be allowed to go back with him."

The titans all looked at one another, none of them were Alec's legal guardian…Starfire stepped up.

"I'm his mom, Kori Grayson. Look, I will fill out all the needed information, but can I please go back and be with my son now?" The secretary looked very sympathetic, and nodded.

Starfire followed Alec through two doors that led to the operating rooms leaving Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven to occupy themselves.

"So…." Cyborg began

"Yep." Echoed Beast Boy

"Wanna hit the snack machines?" Cyborg had a high believe that food could help you no matter what.

Beast Boy nodded and the two walked off leaving Raven alone in the waiting room. She looked at all the people, sitting impatiently with empty eyes. All of them waiting, unable to do anything for those they loved. She could feel their sorrow, how could a world be like this? How could so many people be helpless to save the people they cared for?

Raven shuddered with all the emotions she couldn't feel, and began to walk towards the exit, thinking some fresh air would do her good.

Just as she neared the doors that lead to the outside, they burst open reviling two men in medical uniform pushing a gurney. On it laid a man whose head faced the opposite direction, Raven knew she shouldn't look, but something about him caller her attention.

Suddenly, he began to thrash around, a nurse ran from behind the desk to hold him down. One of the men yelled "We have a gunshot victim! Code 42!"

The man turned his head towards Raven, and yanked off his oxygen mask. He let out a cry of agony, and she noticed for the first time that his lower body was entirely covered in a deep red liquid. She slowly moved her gaze to the man's face, and when she reached his deep piercing black eyes, she herself had to hold in a scream.

The man's eyes also widened at the site. He tried to speak but was quickly caught in another wave of pain, the nurse noticed his mask wasn't on his face and she quickly reattached it to his mouth.

Suddenly he was being moved away from her. He was headed towards the same doors that Alec had gone through, and Raven was stuck.

Her legs wouldn't move, her mouth wouldn't work, and all she could think about was all that blood. All that pain, all that suffering.

And suddenly, everything made sense.

Alec's sudden illness, Robin's timely injury, all the suffering….

Yes, it all made sense now.

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Well folks. I said more Raven, you've got more Raven. Infact, you've got a whole lot of Raven.

I do hope I didn't kill her personality too badly. I've never read very much with her in it, so I don't quite know all the details. Oh, and I know that she can 'heal' people to an extent, but uh…In my story, she can't.

It just works better this way. Sorry if that bums you out. I think this chapter is a little longer then the others, I hope it wasn't confusing or boring.

I want it to be a mystery of sorts, so if you ARE confused, I can tell you that sometime you'll have the answers.

To,Robinstarfire4ever, it would really help me if you'd tell me what's messed up about the story, are you referring to the way its written or the plot or any inconsistency? Really you must be specific for my small mind has difficultly reading yours.

Thank you very much! And as always, REVIEW!


	9. Leakage, and Surprises

Sacrifices: Leakage, and Surprises

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing at all….nothing…_

Atmosphere is a direct connection to how one feels. A warm house can make even the most introverted person feel welcomed, a damp small room could crush your spirits like you had just been run over by a car. The most optimistic person can find themselves thinking of dark gloomy things when confined to small dreary space.

This hallway lacked any possible sense of comfort and relief. A sort of cold unease had set in the air, making any sounds of joy distant and odd. In this hallway, only three people stood. A man who had wedged himself into a small indent in the wall was gazing idly at a paper, and if you not had paid close attention to him, you might not even of noticed him at all, as his body seemed to become one with the shadows.

The other two were located on a bench that had seen better days. The rust on it was beginning to chip away at the white paint that was now an odd yellowish color. They both wore large jackets covering most parts of their body, and distant expressions on their faces showed the world they were not entirely focused on the candy in hand.

The smaller of the two was mindlessly feeding himself while staring directly at the stained wall in front of him. It was very doubtful the young man found anything of particular interest in this wall, but rather that the man's thoughts where elsewhere, certainly on more important topics then the wall that stood before him.

No, his mind was focused on another matter altogether. This matter involved love and hate, and how no matter how hard he tired he couldn't separate the two. Both emotions seemed to entangle his everyday life, making a clear, coherent thought process all but impossible.

He loved his one time best friend, and yet he resented him with all his heart. He loved this young boy that had come into his home, yet he hated what the child represented. If Robin hadn't run off, Alec wouldn't have ever come into existence. His world wouldn't have been torn apart, and his paradise wouldn't have been lost. Yet he couldn't help but hope that perhaps all these hardships would lend themselves to a better future, one more complete then his past.

The larger of the two men that sat on that rusted bench was finding it difficult not to loose his patients. His gaze was focused on the water fountain not 10 feet to his right. To many, there would be nothing about this water fountain to make it worth much more then a second glance, but to the angered man, it was a braking point.

You see, the water fountain was dripping.

The two men shared a common thread in the fact that they were both dealing with uncontrollable emotions, yet while the smaller one was unable to focus on anything but his own thoughts, the larger refused to let his mind think, instead he concentrated of the dripping facet like it held the key to his life.

Because this man knew that if he thought, there was a good probability he'd never stop. His mind was jumbled up and twisted like a pretzel, all giving way to a giant paradox he didn't care to tackle anytime soon. No, he couldn't do that, not yet.

But what he could do, was fix the water fountain.

Standing up and hearing the bones in his real leg pop as he stood, Cyborg made his way towards the object of his glare. Upon reaching the fixture, he squatted down and began to gaze intently at it, as if perhaps merely looking at it would force it to work properly.

The smaller of the two men looked up and stared at his friend questioningly.

Cyborg quickly determined that extra drip was due to a loose screw that connected the pipe to the actual basin. The man figured that he was well equipped to handle this job of tightening, and so he reached up and under and began turning the loose screw to the left.

At this point, Beast Boy looked even more confused as he gazed at his friend. What on earth was he up too?

"Uh…Cyborg?"

The large man didn't look up; he merely kept on turning the screw leftward.

'Cyborg…"

It suddenly occurred to the half robot that he was being spoken too.

"Hm?"

"Uh…are you trying to turn the hallway into a swimming pool?" Beast Boy was giving him the most confused look, though he just kept on turning.

"What are you talking about BB?"

"Righty tighty, leftie loosey." Was all the changeling responded.

"What are you…" Suddenly the screw came completely off. The pip that was used to transport water from the source to the fountain was now bringing the water to the hallway, a large puddle was all ready beginning to form, and Cyborg suddenly found himself watering the hall.

"SHIT!" Was his cry of alarm, soon Cyborg was ankle deep in drinking water, while Beast Boy looked on amusingly.

Momentarily forgetting their current predicament, Beast Boy suddenly found it increasingly difficult to hold in his laughter, soon, chuckles could be heard coming from the smaller man.

"Man! Don't laugh come over here and help me!" Was Cyborg's plea

Beast Boy walked to the edge of the newly formed lake Cyborg was now knee deep in, wondering how on earth he was supposed to help, heck, he wondered if this was even helpable. Wading towards the water fountain, he gave Cyborg a look of confusion, as if to say _Would you like me to drink this all?_

"Just, uh…Plug the pipe!" Unluckily, the water fountain was located at the bottom of a small decline, meaning all the water was going into a bowl like area with no way to drain.

Beast Boy looked for something to plug the opening with…There, on the end of a curved pipe that was now exposed thanks to Cyborg's 'handiwork'. Because the end of the pipe looked rounded, Beast Boy figured that the large rubber stopper was just there so people didn't bump into it. Yanking it off the rounded pipe, he proceeded to stuff it into the pipe that Cyborg had left open.

Beast Boy turned to his robotic friend with a big grin, happy he had done what others were incapable of. Only, to his disappointment, he was met with a giant glare.

"Beast Boy, what did you just do?" Spoke the man who's knees were covered with water.

"I pluged your leak!"

"….BB, look at what you did." Beast Boy turned to where he had yanked the stopper. Apparently, his theory about the cap only being on there for safety was correct, or at least, partly correct. Safety meaning if you didn't want to get drenched, from out of this newly opened pipe came even more water then before.

They were going to have their own private swimming pool in this hallway, weather they had their swimsuit or not.

> > > > > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"What do you mean 'There's nothing wrong'?" Starfire had been in this tiny hospital room with poor Alec for an hour in a half, and so far all this man had told her was that the child was apparently in pain.

Well guess what? She knew that, that's why they were here.

"Does he have any food allergies? Allergic to a fabric perhaps?" The doctor looked pensively into Starfire's eyes, searching for some hint of what might be going on. Sure, he was relatively new the profession, but never had he been so unable to help a patient.

"I uh..I don't know." She looked down feeling ashamed.

"Miss, you are his mother correct?" He had known mothers that didn't care about their children, for them it would be understandable if they did not know allergies. But for someone to of taken the time to bring a child into the ER, wait in a room for 20mins, then be relatively patient while a doctor admitted he had not the slightest clue, and then not know allergies didn't fit.

"Yes! I mean, I am Alec's mother." She replied a bit too quickly. The doctor, who's nametag read Kurt, gently took her arm and gestured her to a seat.

"Miss, I see this thing all the time." Looking into her eyes he could see a brief glint of surprise before she nodded. "Many women think they have to act like the mother, even when perhaps it is not their responsibility to do so."

"Yes…I mean, how did you…" She was very confused on how this 'Kurt' know these things. Perhaps he was a mind reader like Raven.

"Miss, there are many woman just like you who…" He suddenly stopped, Starfire also stopped, and they looked towards the Table that Alec was on.

Kurt, had given him a mild sedative because soon after arriving he began to thrash, sadly, this did little to help. But now, he was very still, too still.

Starfire's breath caught, quickly Kurt ran over to where he Alec lay and took a pulse. Turning, he smiled.

"He's fast asleep." Relief echoed through Starfire, glad the boy was at ease.

Suddenly the door to the room opened as Raven rushed in.

"Robins been shot!"

And then, Starfire did something she'd never done before. Right there in that horrible little room, in front of a good looking doctor and her best friend, after receiving word Alec was doing better,

She fainted.

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Alrighty, I'm really sorry for the delay. No excuses, I know. This chapter was probably a little short, but if I continued on it would have been very large.

And sometimes large chapters bother me, especially ones low on dialog, like this one.

Heh, I know I know, if I were reading this story I'd probably be very mad at the author for not putting more Robin in it. I'm really sorry, just I tried to have more BB/Cyborg action.

And who better to flood a hallway?

I've actually got some really good stuff planed for the next chapter, so hopefully that will come about sooner then this one. I had this all written out, then a friend wrote something, I took one look at mine decided it was crap and started over.

What do you think? Crap? Boring? I'm really really thankful for all your reviews, you people are amazing.

Review? Please? (I sound very desperate…oh well) 


	10. New acquaintances

Sacrifices: New acquaintances

Disclaimer: NOTHING IS MINE!

"Does she do this…often?"

"No, this is the first time."

"Should we give her something?"

"You're the doctor!"

The last voce was louder, and it sounded angry, but mostly, she wanted them to stop. Her head hurt, and the noise was not helping the issue. Unfortunately for her, they continued on.

"But you're her friend!" Yes…this voice was a man's, it was much deeper then the other.

"Shh! She's waking up." Suddenly she felt both presences still and look at her, this would have been an excellent opportunity for her to open her eyes, but that light was still in her way and she was in no hurry.

"Come on Star…" Ah, she recognized this voice; this was the voice of her friend Raven.

Slowly turning her head, as to avoid the bright gleam of the light, she blinked. Lifting her head, she took in her surroundings. It was a small room with a few chairs and a table of some sorts…she couldn't quite see from her position on the floor, wait, why was she on the floor?

"Raven, why am I…"

"You fainted Star." Calmly stated the goth girl, it was common for people to be a bit disoriented when they first woke up.

"But Raven, why would I…" suddenly the memories came rushing back to her, Alec, the hospital, Kurt, the pain, Robin, darkness…

"Is Robin, I mean, is he, no, he can't be…" she couldn't help but ramble, horrible images of Robin being shot in the head, or threw the chest began running through her mind, none of them being very pleasant.

"Relax, no, he's not dead, but that's about all I know. However, I think I know how we can help Alec…" she then became aware of another presence in the room, and eyed the doctor.

"Really? You have? Are you a doctor of some sort? I'd love to know what you thought of, I couldn't figure out the slightest thing…"

_Ug, why do we always get the excitable ones? _Thought Raven.

"Could you uh…leave?" not the best way to get ride of him, yet effective none the less. Kurt nodded, muttered something about attending to other patients, and left the room.

Raven looked at Alec who was now in a heavy sleep on the table, no doubt due to how tired the boy must be after feeling almost the full pain of a gunshot, however, now that Robin was in some sort of surgery she supposed, Alec was finally receiving some relief.

Walking over to the boy, she prayed to whatever god that was out there that her plan would work. She hoped that she could mentally block all feelings that didn't belong to Alec, at the very least she could greatly ease his pain. However, a draw back to her plan was she would have to constantly keep some part of her mind focused on blocking other emotions out.

A task years of mediation had prepared her for.

Gently placing her hand on Alec's forehead, she searched his mind for empathy connection. This was something she had only done once before, when Robin was being haunted. The same thing that happened to the father, was happening to the son, and just like before, she was hit with memories.

_Calm, two people's warm embrace, suddenly one was no longer there and the calm was replaced with a emptiness._

_Dark men with guns, yelling. Tears, a man was crying as snow flakes gently fell besides him. _

_Confusion, where was the calm that he had known before? This new man, holding him, loving him, taking care of him._

Soon all of Alec's older memories were being replaced of those with the new man. No longer could he remember faces or words. Only sensations, fear, love.

Feeling she had finally found the source of the empathy Raven put up a mental block and pulled back her hand looking, for the first time at Alec for what he really was.

A small child, who had seen too much.

She was suddenly aware of the fact she was sitting in a chair, with Starfire's worried eyes stairing intently at her.

"So you are you going to tell me why it is that you placed your hand upon Alec's forehead, and screamed? Or am I supposed to guess?"

Did she scream? She didn't recall.

"Alec can feel all of Robins emotions. I think he could feel it when Robin was shot, maybe not exactly but enough to put him in great pain. I figured I could block most of that by putting a small mental block on that part of Alec's brain. Star, I felt his memories…some of the things he's been through…I'm sorry, I screamed? I didn't blow up the T.V or anything did I?" She forged a small smile on her lips, refusing her mind time to contemplate this new information.

Starfire didn't return the smile, "No, but Raven, how can Alec feel Robin's emotions? Do all sons feel there father's feelings?" she knew little about the father son connection, but that didn't quite make sense to her.

"No, most people can not feel other's emotions, not even family members. And I can almost positively say that Alec feeling Robin's emotions is not due to a blood relation."

Before Starfire could open her mouth and ask more questions, the door opened and Doctor Kurt walked in.

"Excuse me, but didn't you say you knew Richard Grayson?"

The two girls looked a bit confused before finally realizing he was refusing to Robin.

"Er…yeah, actually we do. How is he?" Raven was doing the talking, Starfire's mouth had suddenly ceased working.

"You should come with me."

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"No! Don't take that out….Just move it to the left, no, stop! Wait! BEAST BOY!"

Things had gone down hill quickly, Cyborg was still standing knee deep in water, only the water was spreding and rising.

Fast.

Beast Boy, though doing his very best, was not helping the situation much. Infact, unless Cyborg was very much mistaken, he was making it worse. Somehow, the boy had managed to completely remove the connecting pipe, leaving a spring like supply of water float in the hallway.

"You know Cyborg, I could just turn into a hippo and drink all this water." He was currently scooping water with his hands from one puddle, to another. Actually, he didn't really see what good this was doing, but he was sure if he continued long enough he was sure to accomplish something.

Cyborg sighed and made his way over to the fountain, making sure he was turning to the right, he tightend the mouth piece of the fountain.

The only thing wrong with the fountain in the first place.

Sadly, this was not Cyborg's lucky day, for he tightened it too hard, pulling the thing right off.

It would have been comical, a large metal man standing in a pool of water, one gushing stream coming from an open pipe, another from a small fountain tip. Beast Boy was fighting the urge to turn into a duck and swim around when the man reading the news paper walked over.

"Leave some for the fish." Beast Boy looked up at his dark eyes. Dark black hair or a well toned, very large body gave the man the appearance of pure terror. His deep voice was lined with hints of annoyance and amusement, but mostly annoyance. He was well dressed, wearing some sort of expensive over coat that reminded Beast Boy of a cape.

Quite frankly, the man scared the crap out of him.

"Yeah, wanna drink?" Was Cyborg's gruff reply, apparently he hadn't seen the man.

"I never drink from the fountain, I don't know where the water's been." The voice could easily cause a weaker man to wet himself, however Beast Boy was struck by something odd.

"Hey! Now where on earth would water go? I mean it just stays in the pipes until you drink it right?"

The man laughed and stood up very tall. Spreading his arms out wide as to say 'What do you call this', he said, "Your right, it's not like anyone would ever brake one of these things."

"Yeah I mean…oh, well…This was an accident!" Beast Boy blushed.

The man took his coat and set it gently on a nearby chair, far enough over that it wouldn't get wet. Rolling up his sleeves he eyed the contraption that Cyborg was currently trying to clog with his shoe.

He began to roll up his left pant leg with Cyborg caught site of what he was doing.

"Can I help you?" he asked more then a bit annoyed.

"No, probably not." The man moved on to his right leg.

"Then, what may I ask are you doing?"

"Trying to save this hospital from being the next Noah's Ark." With that he waded into the water and headed for the center of the trouble.

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Doctor Kurt was leading Raven and Starfire through another dismal hallway. This one led to many operation rooms, a few of which held screaming voices from the other end. This was only a temporary location for the emergency room, thus it lacked many of the accommodations the rest of the hospital was privy too.

They neared a room that had a young woman standing out side of it, her arms were crossed and it looked like she had been crying. Starfire was surprised when Kurt began to slow down the closer they got to this room, who is this girl? Why are they stopping?

"This is Clara. She was uh…present at the time of the incident."

The woman looked up with sad, old eyes, though she herself couldn't of been more then 25. Forging a smile on her face she quietly said, "He saved me, he saved me and now…"

Clara burst into tears, Starfire was hit with the amount of compassion in the woman and leaned into hug her. Clara's eyes opened wit the contact. Why? Why would this person show such love after she had caused all this trouble?

And that was the very question that came out her of her mouth.

She never received and answer, a gentle cough from the doctor signaled he had information he needed to tell the girls.

"Richard was shot in the left region of his pelvis, almost completely shattering the bone there, now normally we would operate, and try reconstruct the bone. However this is a very risky and expensive procedure, and we need consent before it can be done. I am aware of his…circumstances and thought it would be wise to inform, and ask permission of you before we began."

"Circumstances?" Raven asked puzzled, surely, this man didn't know about the Titans.

"Yes, er, I've been informed of his past…employment, and uh, coworkers, now I know this is a difficult decision, but I would like to begin as soon as possible in order to increase the possibility of a successful procedure."

Starfire nodded, not caring how he knew or why he knew, only caring that Robin was in danger. "Yes, may we go find out friends to gain of their opinion?"

Kurt nodded and the two began to walk off, leaving a sobbing girl in dark hallway.

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People would have laughed had they seen it for themselves. Sadly, no one was walking down that hallway, and the only word of the misadventure was a whisper that some freak had flooded the south wing.

Three normally calm, well mannered men of society, all of different circumstances, none of whom planed on spending there day like this, lay underneath a water fountain.

The larger of the three men was cursing. A few of these words Cyborg had never heard. Beast Boy was currently searching the bottom for a missing screw, the original one Cyborg had pulled off.

Resurfacing, he yelled "I've got it!"

"Good, now give it here." Replied the man, Cyborg oddly enough, felt left out and angry. He should be thankful this man was helping the seemingly helpless situation, but in truth, HE wanted to be the one to fix it.

Not some stranger.

"And…done!" Shouted the man, all three cheered. There celebration was cut short however with the arrival of Starfire and Raven.

"What the hell did you do!" Shouted Raven, Starfire just looked on in wonder and puzzlement.

"Is it not dangerous to have a river in a building?"

"Star its not a lake! Cyborg killed the water fountain! But this guy helped us fix it!" Cried Beast Boy happily.

"…What guy?" Great, now they were picking up strange men.

Beast Boy grabbed the man's shoulder and turned him to face the girls. "Him, I mean uh…what did you say your name was."

Raven's eye's lit up quickly as her voice cried out.

"Oh my God, you're Bruce Wayne!"

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Alright folks, sorry about the wait. I'd blame it on vacation, but well…I didn't go on vacation, so that's probably not a good thing to do. I have no idea about anything having to do with medical knowledge or gunshot wounds, feel free to inform me in a review and I'll change it to make it more accurate.

Ah Bruce, how I love you. I love him, but I don't know if I'm writing him correctly, so please give me some info on how I can improve that.

Also, can anyone tell I read x-men? Yeah, the whole mind block thing probably sounded familiar and I'm really sorry if that sounded a bit too…rushed. If so, please tell me and give me some ideas on how to make a fuller explanation.

I'm really needing help here guys if I'm going to be able to continue with this story. And hey look at that, if I just had a few more reviews, I could say I average 10 a chapter.

Is that cool or what?

Please, help a girl out, review!

OH! And NO I AM NOT MAKING THIS SLASH! Really sorry if it came out that way…er….yeah, no, don't worry about that.


	11. Gone

Sacrifices

Gone

All eyes turned towards the man standing knee deep in water, sweating, dirty, and looking nothing at all what one might expect Bruce Wayne, richest man in Gothom, and one of the richest in the world to look like.

Yet there he stood.

"You mean your Bruce Wayne? Owner of Wayne Enterprises, richest man…" Cyborg was however interrupted.

"Richest man in America? I doubt that, but yeah, that's me." He was ringing out his suddenly expensive looking sports jacket. Beast Boy had not noticed the quality of his clothing until now.

"But…but…why did you help us fix the pipe?" He asked perplexed.

"Because I didn't feel like going for a swim, that's why."

Beast Boy blushed. Smooth move, drowning the owner of the largest corporation ever. Though you can't blame him, how often is it you meet a celebrity in a hospital? Wait…why was Bruce Wayne in a hospital hallway to begin with?

Before he could stop him self, he blurted out this very question.

"I had to fix a water fountain." He was now poring the water out of one very expensive shoe.

"Really?"

"No, my son is here." Beast Boy froze. The hall had suddenly taken on a serious air and everything had gone silent.

Raven, suddenly reminded of the reason she was here, found her self looking at the floor. She wouldn't let her self cry, not a single tear….

Sniff.

Wait, that wasn't her, turning to Starfire she noticed the alien girl was silently crying. Looking into her face you didn't have to be a empath to know the young woman was on the verge of something.

Something horrible, something that was taking the hope from her once brilliant eyes, something desperate, something with a passion, and it was eating at her.

Cyborg turned to the now trembling girl.

"Star…what's wrong? How's Alec?"

Starfire looked into his eyes, began to say something, then in a furry of emotion buried her head in his chest and burst into tears. Shocked, Cyborg stood there stiffly, first looking at Beast Boy who gave him a confused look, then at Raven who's eyes told him he should do something.

What he did not know.

However, instinct took over and he began to stroke her hair soothing. Starfire was like a sister to him, to see her sobbing was like stabbing his heart.

"Cyborg, I need to talk to you." Was Ravens stern statement.

Starfire composed her self slightly and backed herself away from the man. Cyborg nodded and headed towards Raven while Beast Boy just stood there perplexed as to the whole situation.

Raven had decided she would tell Cyborg, the unofficial team leader of Robins condition. Leading him into an adjoining hallway that was just as dreary as the first, she took a deep breath.

"Robin was in an accident…"

Cyborg just looked in her eyes intently. "Your point?"

Ravens temper broke. How could he say something like that? Robin was there friend, no matter what he had done, no matter how long it had been. How could he be so cruel, so unkind, so heartless?

And so she let it out.

"What do you mean my point? Our friend, your BEST friend was shot! He could be dieing! Alec could be an orphan and you ask what my point is?"

She took a deep breath, she couldn't get out of control, she had to stay in control. Always in control…

She was sick of being in control, wasn't that Cyborg's job? Why the hell was she was she always picking up the pieces? Why was she always carrying a burden?

She was through with this, through with Cyborg, through with being in control, through of being there for everyone all the time no matter what.

She was gone.

Turning, she stormed off in the direction of Starfire to tell her that she would see her later that evening, that she couldn't deal with this now, that she needed a break from this, from everything, from life.

So walking quickly with a determination seldom seen, she took a right at the vending machine, walked up to Star, whispered something in the girls ear, stepped over the man made lake, and left the building.

She was gone.

"This is why I prefer working solo" Muttered Bruce.

"….What's that supposed to mean?" Murmured Cyborg, making his way back into the flooded hall.

"Nothing, look, it's been great talking to you, but don't you guys have some things you need to be attending to?"

"Yeah, we do. Come on team, we need to talk" He didn't care he was two member's short, he didn't care how this guy knew about Robin, in fact, he wasn't sure he cared about anything anymore.

Robin was dieing.

He began walking, leading a broken girl and a confused young man through the halls of the hospital. He needed to think, he needed to prioritize, hell, he needed theorpy .

But Starfire would not have it. He was wasting time, time Robin needed, time they did not have to waste!

"Cyborg, where are we going?" She would be strong

There was no answer

"Do you know where you are leading us to?" She had to be strong…

Silence

"Friend, I do not believe this is the way we need to be…" Do not cry…do not cry…

"Starfire, I need you to be quite." Was the stern reply

And for the second time today, someone on the Titans team lost it.

"No! You are leading us nowhere! Robin needs us! Take us to him! You are the leader! You are killing Robin!"

She gasped, she had not intended on saying the last part. But she would not take it back, for in a part it was true, he was wasting time Robin needed, thus leading to his demise.

"You think its easy being the leader? You think dealing with this shit is fun? You think you could do better? Come on Starfire! Get a grip! I don't want him to die either but DID leave us! He doesn't care, he never did, he only cares for himself, I have to think and I can't think if you talk!"

No…that wasn't right. He cared, she knew he cared, he could not say such things.

"How dare you say those things about Robin! Yes, he hurt us all but you have also hurt me and I have shown forgiveness! I'm willing to forgive Robin just as I have forgiven you and he needs our help now and your just going to leave him? Leave him to die…" S

She was sobbing again, she didn't know what else to do. Nothing was right anymore.

She had a point and Cyborg knew it.

"Wait…what's wrong with Robin?" It was Beast Boy, he still did not know. Cyborg just looked at him with eyes of sorrow and regret and suddenly Beast Boy understood.

Something had happened, things had changed, and he was alone.

"Star…" said Cyborg in an attempt to sooth the girl, how could he have hurt her so badly?

"Star please…" He moved closer to her form on the floor. She had curled into a small ball and looked like a young defenseless child.

"NO! Stay away!"

"Starfire, it will be okay, it will all be okay." He scooped up Starfire and embraced her lovingly repeating these words over and over again, mostly to sooth her, but partly to convince himself.

Because at the moment, nothing seemed okay and he wondered if it would ever be okay again.

In a dimmed room three men in white masks began to wash their hands, clean their utensils, and prepare for the most important surgery they had ever preformed. Looking at the form on the hospital bed so defenseless and helpless they wondered how they had all thought of this boy as their hero, how had they put so much pressure on one person?

One so broken.

Looking at one another they began to operate delicately, with precision more precise then some believe to be possible.

In the small room there was merely one large glass window, on the other side of this window stood a form in the shadows for that was where he preferred to be. An on looker, and observer, and if need be, savor.

Slowly three shapes began walking up the hallway that the glass window was connect to, there silhouettes showed them to be worn, tired, mentally and physically fatigued.

As they approached they took on a look of pure shock. Hadn't they been told the doctors needed permission before operating? Had Raven come back and given them an answer? No.

She was gone.

So who had gone ahead?

Beast Boy stood back feeling useless. Glancing into the hall he noticed another figure staring intently at Robins still and lifeless form.

The boys look seemed to ask how.

"I told you, my son needed me."

First off, I'd like to apologize profusely, there is absolutely no excuses though I can give you many, I doubt you would care. If you do care, then feel free to ask.

I hope it wasn't too bad, or inaccurate.

You've probably all forgotten about this story, I wouldn't blame you. I hate it when authors stop for long periods of time

But I would like to say that KorrianderX'Hal who got me writing this thing again.

So, that should let me know how much you guys all mean to me. Thank you so much.

I will finish this. No matter how long that might take, however ideas are VERY WELCOME.


	12. Of meetings and revelations

Sacrifices: Of Meetings and Revelations.

It was raining, why did it always seem to rain when she needed some light, some warmth? Even the weather conspired against her. Though maybe the drizzle was a blessing for it concealed her sorrow, her pain, her betrayal.

Though most of all she was angry, and even that was beginning to be washed away with the rain.

Angry at Robin for leaving them all those years ago, angry at him for not being there for the team, angry he acted a coward and ran. Something he promised to never do. She was angry at Cyborg for failing to show any form of compassion, his utter emotional defeat was their downfall and his inability to keep them strong their pain.

But most of all she was angry at herself. Never had she known that she was so weak, so pathetic, and so damn emotional! Some say that emotions are what make you human, what tie all man together. If being human meant so much pain, so much hurt she wasn't sure it was worth it.

Worst of all she felt absolutely useless, a feeling she utterly loathed. Now that she had run out of the hospital there was even less for the girl to do. In fact, the only somewhat useful thing she had accomplished was helping to ease Alec's pain…

Alec.

Crap, no one was with him. Someone should be with the kid when he woke up. Raven suddenly found herself with a renewed sense of purpose. Turning swiftly she pulled her cloak a bit tighter and hurried in the direction of the hospital.

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"You mean…"

The man nodded. Beast Boy suddenly felt as though a million puzzle pieces had fallen into place and he no longer felt the confusion and isolation of earlier.

Starfire stood at the window looking at Robins still form intently, as if her gaze meant the difference between life and death. As though perhaps if she kept looking he'd always be there. She felt as though she would do anything to take the pain from him, all the pain, just to heal him. And then a single thought struck her.

She could handle his physical pain, but not that of the mental.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Cyborg also stood seemingly staring at the still form. In truth however he wasn't seeing anything, he wasn't hearing anything, nor did he feel the cold of the hall.

For the first time he realized that they weren't invincible. Somewhere deep in his subconscious he supposed he realized this. Supposed he always knew he wasn't made of steal entirely. They had all been hurt before, all taken beatings and broken bones. But never had he felt so unimportant. Had he ever done anything brave before? Surly you weren't brave if you didn't understand just how fragile life was.

Standing there watching someone he once held in his highest regard completely lifeless was like realizing for the first time how stupid petty arguments were. How much time had he wasted? How often had he completely wasted days, even weeks over a grudge?

If Robin didn't make it, would he ever feel forgiven?

Cyborg was so transfixed on his own musings that he did not notice the conversation taking place behind him.

"I thought Robin didn't have parents." Maybe it was the fact it all seemed so surreal, but Beast Boy could not bear to think of the current situation. Instead he decided to focus all his attentions on seemingly pointless questions.

"You thought he just poof'd into existence then?" Bruce had no idea why he was even bothering with this kid. Maybe it was the fact he always seemed to get his mind off things, something that was a valuable trait.

"No…I just mean,"

"He never told you then?" He lowered his voice. No one was going to tell Robin's story other then Robin his self… And Bruce couldn't accept that might not ever happen. It would, and until then he would honor his wishes.

"Robin never told us anything, I think that's why he always felt alone…"

This struck Bruce as strange; he'd never heard anyone say something like that about Robin. He was the greatest detective in the world, yet he hadn't noticed something so apparent. However a boy he spends his full two hours awake eating junk food had.

Great. He was getting old.

The kid really did take after him.

"Robin had parents," Beast Boy noticed the past tenths, but before could ask anymore Starfire broke in.

"Mr. Wayne…did you..?" She wanted to ask him why he was there, ask him what he was doing, and if he had saved them precious time by telling the doctors to go ahead she wanted to thank him.

"You guys were taking to long. I can't have my only heir die because he was stupid and his stupid friends took too long 'thinking'"

"Heir? You mean Robin is your…"

"Yeah man! He's Robin's old man! You think the guy could of gotten us more expensive Christmas presents with all that cash!" Ha! Beast Boy DID know things no one else knew about.

"Firs of all, do not call me an old man. Second of all, he was too stubborn to ever ask for any money, not that I would of spoiled him with it anyway, and third, I think their done."

The three turned to look at the three doctors who had previously been working on Robin who were now putting away their utensils and cleaning up. The larger of the three looked up to see the group, nodded, and quickly excited out of a side door in the operating room. A moment later he walked through a door Starfire had not noticed until now and joined the group.

"You'll be glad to know that all things considered, the surgery was a success…"

"All things considered?" Said Cyborg who had now turned towards the doctor. What the heck did all things considered mean?

"Yes, well you see, there was much internal bleeding. However thanks to our uh…resources that were made available to us, we were able to not only stop it, but reconstruct the bone. There was however a small period of time in which we were worried he had already lost too much blood. Miraculously he managed to pull his vitals back up and we were able to complete the surgery." The man looked nervous, as though his job was being threatened. Cyborg wondered if Bruce had maybe suggested something…

"And what does that all mean?" Wondered Starfire

"It means that he'll live, and perhaps after months of physical therapy he'll even be able to walk. He will however always have a slight limp, though he should be considered incredible lucky as many do not wake up from this operation, let alone walk afterwards."

Starfire's breath caught when she heard that he might not wake up. But this was Robin, surely he'd pull through, he was strong.

"The anesthetic we gave him should wear off in no less then two hours, if you'd like to come back then your more then welcome, now however I believe it would be wise to get something to eat or perhaps get some rest."

Why did doctors always suggest you get something to eat or rest? Cyborg couldn't do either at the moment.

"Perhaps we should go visit Alec? He might be frightened." Suggest Starfire, the two titans nodded. Starfire looked up at Bruce to see him stiffen slightly.

"Would you like to accompany us? I do not believe you will be able to eat or rest either."

Bruce looked confused before saying "Why is Alec here?"

Starfire hesitated; she had not realized that he was unaware of the child's condition.

"He woke up last night in great pain. Raven thinks…well Raven _says_ the pain Robin was in caused it"

Bruce looked skeptical, but nodded in agreement and the four headed off in the direction of the hospital room with slightly lighter hearts.

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As they neared the door they were surprised to hear laughter, that of Alec's and of a man's. Opening the door hesitantly Starfire smiled at the sight.

There on her hands and knees crouched Raven, Alec was on her back, and Dr. Kurt was sitting in a near by chair making Mooing noises.

"I swear, if you don't cut that out….Oh, uh…Hi." Said Raven as she noticed the three walk into the room.

Beast Boy started to laugh as Starfire opened her mouth to ask just what was the meaning of the mooing when Raven glared.

"Don't ask"

"Well you see, Raven arrived a few minutes before Alec woke up. I had dropped my papers and she was helping me pick them up when Alec came to. He apparently thought we were playing horsey. Before either of us had noticed he had woken up he jumped on Ravens back and began yelling 'Giddy Up!'" retold Dr. Kurt through laughter

"Why didn't you just tell him to get off?" asked Cyborg perplexed

"He was too damn cute." Growled Raven.

Suddenly Alec's eyes got very wide

"Bad Word!" He yelled, Beast Boy giggled.

"Don't tell your dad m'kay?" Was Raven's response

However Alec had already forgotten and was now looking intently at Bruce in a strange way.

"What's he doing?" Asked Cyborg quietly

"How would I know? I've never met the kid before." It was said with a hint of sorrow

"What? He's your grandson and you've never met him?"

"I never said my relationship with Robin was a good one. Besides, kids don't really like me, I scare them….what the..." Bruce looked down to see Alec pulling on his paint leg.

"Up! Up!"

"Oh yeah, he's terrified of you!" Laughed Beast Boy

"What the heck is he doing?" He was not some child's play toy!

"What do you think? He wants you to pick him up." Raven was quite glad someone else was being made a fool.

Bruce sighed, looked down at Alec and realized that Raven was right. He was too damn cute. Lifting the young boy up Alec looked him intently in the eyes.

All was silent, no one knew quite what to expect. Suddenly the boy giggled, pointed to Bruce, and said.

"Old"

The room erupted into laughter, and Bruce wondered if his hair was really that gray.

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Alrighty! HA! Wrote this one the day after. I should get some reward for that…

Actually, I'm just avoiding homework (Which is due tomorrow)

I'd like to thank you for your reviews! Especially Her Royal Hipness for leaving one of the most interesting reviews I've ever received.

She also brought up a very valid point.

I can't spell.

I DO in fact spell check this and I DO try my best, but I understand I'm missing many errors. And that must become frustrating to you all. Soooooooooooooo after much consideration, I've decided it would be worth the effort of having a beta reader to correct captures for spelling errors and inconsistencies plot wise.

I think I'm doing decently as far as inconsistencies go, however you may of noticed I seem to have dumbed down Alec, I plan on going back and changing his voice from the other chapters as well. I think this way fits better.

So if you are interested in beta checking (Checking for grammatical errors, spelling errors, suckyness) please E-Mail me and I will get you more information.

I would also like to assure you that all of your questions about the mother, the couples, Alec, and other such things will become apparent to you eventually. This IS a mystery type story meaning there will be some uncertainty.

Thank you for all your kind comments and reviews. Suggestions are always welcome. Thanks


	13. Complications

STILL DON"T OWN ANYTHING

Sacrifices: Complications

The two men stood leaning against a wall, hands folded over their chest, eye's locked on the floor, never speaking, never looking up. Locked in a comfortable silence their breathing was soft and barley audible. The smaller of the two, though not b much felt as though this could not last much longer. The simple ignorant bliss they had all created was either going to end now, or crash down upon them when they least expected it.

And so he spoke.

"So, that was the first time?"

"Hm?"

"You'd really never met your own grandson? Not visits, no cards, no phone calls?" Honestly Cyborg didn't really care, sure, he was interested but this particular issue didn't mean much, didn't hold the sorrow or any of the answers to the questions he really wanted to ask.

No, this was safe…or at least it was safer.

"At leat I knew he existed." Was Bruce's gruff reply. The two had exited the room a little more then fifteen minutes ago, neither of them could handle the 'happy' go lucky feeling of the room. It was just a sham. Cyborg didn't believe anyone in that room felt the way they acted, and he couldn't deal with the fake smiles or forced laughter.

"You don't know what your talking about." Harsh, he may be Bruce Wayne, but he wasn't detective, he didn't know what they had all been through.

"Me? You found out a total of two hours ago that I was Robin's guardian." If Cyborg had been looking he would have seen a small smirk on the millionaire's lips.

"Fine, hate to burst your bubble, but your son can be a real jack ass sometimes" Why was he still doing this? He seemed to be the only one who still cared about the past, why did he continue to drag up pointless battles?

"He's a stubborn little inconsiderate jerk too, making me come all the way down here to bail out his sorry butt." Said Bruce, matter-of-factly.

What? Cyborg wasn't expecting this, how many people talked about their children like that? Especially Robin…come to think of it, Cyborg could only remember one time he had ever asked for anything, and that was for help with Alec. Before he could think up a decent reply, Bruce continued.

"Then there's the fact he's never done a single good thing in his life, always thinking about himself."

Okay, that wasn't right. Cyborg couldn't believe he was hearing this.

"The guy isn't that bad! He used to think about everyone, he'd even get sick because he'd never took care of himself! Starfire use to chew his head off because once he stayed up for three days because of a security break and he was worried if he sleep someone would sneak into the tower!"

Bruce looked up into Cyborg's eyes. This is exactly what he hoped would happen.

"I thought you said he was a jackass"

Cyborg looked back down at the floor. This guy was slick, he'd give him that much. By complaining about Robin, He'd made him see just how foolish he'd been all this time.

"Robin's not the jackass, I am…Oh man, I'm an idiot…"

Bruce just smiled as he touched Cyborg on the shoulder "Come on, let's go see Robin, he should be waking up now."

With that the two newly enlightened men walked towards what would be a pivotal moment in all of their lives.

Contrary to what the doctors had said, he's woken up long before the two hours were up. He supposed it was because of his training, maybe he was use to being put through difficult things.

Or maybe it was because his mind simply would not rest. Which was why he hadn't made his consciousness know to anyone, he needed time to think.

About…well, he didn't know what about just yet. That was the point of thinking he assumed.

Also, his leg hurt like freaking hell.

His eyes were closed, he had opened them a short time only to find he was in some sort of curtained off, make shift hospital room, He guess they gave the actual rooms to more permanent residents who would be around longer then him. Hopefully he wasn't going to be stuck in the hospital long and could get back on his feet soon so he could continue to search for leads.

Wait…if he wasn't going to be here long did that mean they didn't expect him to recover at all?

The lines on the monitor behind Robin suddenly shot up. Until now, he had been keeping his blood pressure regular as to avoid attention, but this new thought had temporarily startled him.

He wasn't going to die, not now, not yet. Even if the doctors thought it was slim, if they even thought that he didn't know, he wouldn't listen to them.

He never had, and he didn't plan on starting now.

A woman in a blue uniform suddenly rushed in, apparently worried by the spike in blood pressure.

_Well, I guess its time to open my eyes_. There was no point in pretending any more.

The nurse started to lift Robin's torso upwards so she could check to make sure his IV was securely in place. She was startled to find that he had not only opened his eyes, but was attempting to move himself up on the bed.

Robin winced. He was attempting, anyway.

"You stop that right now!" She said in a stern but kind voice "I don't care who you are, or what you've done, because right now you're my patient, and I won't have my patients straining themselves because of their silly egos. Now close your eyes and pretend to be asleep so I can pretend to not worry about you being awake so soon"

He was momentarily surprised.

Bossy, he thought. But he obeyed, finding that attempting to sit up on his own was useless anyway, and though he'd never tell anyone, it hurt to even try.

_I don't care who you are._

So, she knew he was Robin. But how? Who knew he was here?

The woman! Had he saved her? He had almost completely forgotten about the reason he was here in the first place. Oh man, he hoped he had saved her.

If not, he had failed a second time, twice his life hadn't helped at all.

But no, the woman didn't know who he as so not even she could have notified anyone. He was alone, the Titans wouldn't know he as there, Alfred and Bruce would have no idea what city he was in, let alone that he was in the hospital.

Judging by the curtained off room, Robin figured he had just come from a surgery of some sort. And if he had come out of surgery, someone must have given legal consent to proceed. Or at leats provided proof that he could afford to pay for the surgery in the first place.

He would have laughed if he though he could. The thought that he actually _couldn't_ afford the surgery someone amused him.

Yet, here he was, on a bed too small for him, in this damned hospital room that wasn't even a hospital room, too drugged to think right and experiencing one of the worst head aches he had ever had.

And then it clicked.

Bruce. It could only be him; he was the only one who had the money for this, the only one who could possibly give legal consent. Sure, Robin had always assumed that he had cut off all contacts to Bruce, but he was one of the best detectives in the world, surly he had checked up on him a few times over the past seven years.

At least, Robin knew he had done the same thing in regards to his mentor.

The nurse who had apparently gotten all she needed exited the room, however Robin was not alone for long when the caped crusader himself walked in.

"You owe me a lot of money." Oh how Robin loved touching moments like these.

Robin took a deep breath gaining the energy to speak.

"Are you even allowed to be in here?" They let just anyone in the hospital rooms these days.

"I have connections"

A moment of silence followed, neither really knowing what was supposed to be said, Robin finally decided it was time to get some of those questions answered.

"Is that woman…is she…?"

Bruce nodded his head; he figured the kid would as about someone else before he asked what exactly was going on with himself.

"She's fine, Alec's fine, and everyone's fine." He figured he'd speed things up by just answering all at once.

Noting the confused look on Robins' face, Bruce said "Is something the matter?"

A moment of silence, then "Why wouldn't Alec be fine?"

Crap. He had forgotten that he didn't know anything about Alec. However, before he could answer, Cyborg entered the room.

This is not who Robin was expecting to see. Hell, he would have been surprised had any of the Titans shown up, but Cyborg?

"Security's down I see." Was Robin's snide remark.

To his surprise, Cyborg smiled.

"Shut up, I'm trying to do the right thing and make amends before you go and get yourself killed" His tone was only half mocking.

"I would not get my self…" He had to stop and take a breath; however before he could he had a coughing fit.

Why was breathing so hard?

Bruce also wondered why Robin seemed to be having difficulty talking, the drugs would slow down your verbal skills, but they shouldn't cause pain.

As the two waited for Robin to regain his strength, Starfire in another part of the hospital was also trying to remember to breath.

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Raven stared at Starfire, Starfire stared at Dr. Kurt, who had told them all too just call him Kurt, and Kurt was staring at Alec who was staring at a bug.

_Did he, could he, did he just? _

Starfire must have heard wrong, surely, the word Kurt just spoke weren't what she had heard.

Raven was thinking the same thing, though she was much more amused by the situation then Starfire was.

All the staring however was getting on Kurt's nerves and he finally broke the tension.

"So, what do you say?"

Starfire had no idea what she would say, or what she was supposed to say.

She looked to Raven for assistance, only to find out the girl was trying to laugh.

"Um…I'm sorry, but what is it that you have asked of me?" Please let me be wrong, please let me be wrong…

"Starfire, he asked you on a date!" Raven started laughing openly, though only slightly, she still had to watch her emotions.

Kurt's cheeks turned the same color of Starfire's ember hair. This was…unexpected.

Thankfully, she was saved as Beastboy entered the room.

"Guys! Robins awake! Cyborg and the old due are there now!"

Starfire quickly forgot about Kurt's request and asked if it was possible to visit him.

"Sure, why now?" Replied Beastboy. The five, including Alec who was currently being held by Starfire began the journey to Robin's room with lighter hearts and a sense of momentary peace.

Sadly, this peace was not to last. As they neared the hall Robin's room was down, Starfire began to feel a sense of dread, and sure enough, when they came to his room they witnessed Cyborg and Bruce being thrown out by a bossy looking nurse.

"Dude! What's the deal?" Said an annoyed Beastboy tired of not getting in on any action.

"Some little nurse through us out…" said an angry Cyborg, angry that a woman half his size got the better of him.

""But why? I do not understand" The confusion in Starfire's eyes was evident, and even the hardened heart of Bruce Wayne felt a small slimmer of pity.

Cyborg look at all of them with sad eyes before saying ,

"Team, there's been a complication, Robin has started coughing up blood"

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I know, it took forever. I got a beta reader but the stupid format thingie screwd up so you probably can't tell because I just retyped this whole thing.

Please review, I need it.


	14. Lets Play

I own nothing

Sacrifices

Chapter 14: Lets Play

Hehe, so something funny happened last night, I realized I owned all of this. Too bad I was asleep…

The tension could easily be cut with a knife. As she looked at the world through once innocent eyes, she couldn't help but feel she had been cheated out of a normal life. Couldn't help but feel that nothing was as it belonged, but most of all, she couldn't help but feel selfish.

She shouldn't be worrying about herself she thought, there were plenty of other people to worry about, no point in taking up time thinking about herself.

They had just been informed that the blood Robin was coughing up was due to three broken ribs the doctors had failed to notice before. Stafire hadn't known mistakes like that were made, but then again she supposed she should be happy it wasn't something more serious.

In fact, the news was so good that they were told Robin could even come home tomorrow, as long as he promised to remain on strict bed rest for at least the next three weeks. Both the ribs and his hip required both time and patience to heal.

Stafire sighed realizing that Robin had neither of those qualities. But that didn't matter; she would make him stay in bed even if it involved her sitting on him to prohibit him from getting up.

That is, if he decided to stay at the tower.

You see, the problem with Robin being able to come home was the simple and sad fact that he really had no home to go to. Sure, he could go to the Titan Tower, or to Bruce's mansion, but he felt as though he didn't belong in either.

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Robin lay awake in the bed wishing he could sleep as both Bruce and Cyborg stated their respective arguments on why he should either go to the tower, or go back with Bruce.

His head ach was quickly coming back with vibrant force. There were just too many factors to decide upon and this pain killer he was on was not helping his already fuzzy mind think clearly.

He was already in Jump City, that was in the Titans favor, though in truth he had no idea why they'd want him there in the first place. But he had no time to think of that, he had to do what was best for Alec, he wouldn't leave him again.

Then again, it would be all but impossible to get away from the tower to look for whoever was hounding him with four other people around.

It would be much easier to just get away from Alfred. He'd done it before, how hard could it be to evade an old man anyway?

Robin almost laughed. This was Alfred! Nothing normal about him. Still…it had to be easier then staying with four other emotional people, at least Bruce was quiet.

Bruce and Cyborg were standing right in front of him arguing over the best muffler for an UATD. (Underwater Assault Transpiration Device) How the topic of conversation had gone from his living arrangements to mechanics he did not know.

Taking a deep breath in preparation to speak above the two already raised voices he felt it coming on before he could stop. The burning itching sensation that could only mean that a coughing fit was on its way and he was defenseless to stop it.

Looking around quickly for a source to muffle the sound, he spotted a glass of what he assumed to be water. The two others in the room were so engrossed in their conversation they might not even notice if he took a small drink of water and only coughed once.

Quickly grabbing the glass he took a big gulp only to realize that the glass contained Bunchy Chunchy, a chocolaty candy that Beastboy had been eating earlier and must have left in the room.

Too late, there was already a Bunchy Crunchy lodged in Robins throat and no matter how hard he tried, he could not get it out.

Bruce turned when he noticed the sounds of frantic coughing coming from Robin. He expected to see the boy in some sort of a fit, and was surprised to see his eyes bulging and watering and his face slowly turning red.

He ran into the hallway and yelled nurse, quickly realizing this was no ordinary coughing fit.

A small woman in her late 60's rushed into the actual room, (He had traded in his curtained off room some time during the night) she looked piercingly at Robin, strait in the eyes. If he hadn't been lacking oxygen he would have been more freaked out by that action, but as it was, he was more concerned about the chocolate substance lodged in his breathing passage.

She moved around to his back and with one swift motion of her firm hand, slapped him.

Hard.

The Bunchy Crunchy flew out of his mouth and onto Bruce's shoe. The nurse wiped her hands together in a satisfied manor and left the room without saying a word.

Bruce and Cyborg just stared at Robin.

"You were choking?" said Bruce in a perplexed manor

"On one of Beastboy's candies, he's not going to be happy you're eating his stuff man." Though Cyborg was secretly relieved that it hadn't been something worse.

Robin gave them both a death glare.

"Cyborg, could you please ask someone to go to the tower and get Alec's things? I think its best for everyone if I stay with Bruce." Best in this case meaning that it would be easier to research and track down whoever it was that seemed to be following them.

Cyborg opened his mouth to protest but soon realized he was speaking to the most headstrong man the world had ever known. Deciding it was best for all parties involved to just complying he nodded his head and left the room.

Being left alone with Bruce Wayne in a small room was enough to make the strongest man quiver with intimidation, but Robin was steadfast in his determination not to weaver from what he had decided upon. He was getting out!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Meanwhile, Beast Boy was lost. He had attempted to find a vending machine, apparently he had left his Bunchy Cruchies someplace and was in serious need of a sugar boost. After passing the information desk three times, he realized he was no where near food, and decided to ask the lady behind the desk where on earth he could get some candy.

Sadly, nothing was ever that easy for Beast Boy.

Walking up to the counter he decided that blue eye shadow really wasn't the look for her, he didn't know much about fashion, but he decided she looked more like a smerf then a receponist.

"Hi I was uh, wondering if you could tell me where the vending machines were…"

She slowly looked up from her magazine, took a bite of her candy bar, and gazed intently into his eyes.

"Nope."

Beast Boy stammered, he had not expected the information desk to refuse information….Honestly, there was something wrong with that.

"What?" Maybe he hadn't heard correctly.

"I don't know where they are either." She turned back to her magazine. Beast Boy was about to walk away defeated when a thought struck him. He was not one to have thoughts strike him often, so when they did he took full advantage.

"You don't know where the vending machines are?"

She turned to look at him annoyed.

"That's what I said."

"Then where did you get that?" He picked up the half eaten candy bar. She opend her mouth to say something, then closed it, then opened it again and finally decided she'd been beaten.

"Fine, there down the blue hall, past the hall way, up the west elevator, and on the 6th floor."

Beast Boy's head was spinning, was it blue elevator and west hall? Or was it the pink hall and south east exit….

He was about to ask her to repeat what she had said she looked at her watch, gathered her things, and put up a sign saying that the information desk would be back at 4:14.

And that was the last he ever saw of her.

That was about an hour ago, and Beast Boy was beginning to wonder if he was still in a hospital. He felt like Alice, and this darn hallways was his wonderland, only very little was wondrous and he was very hungry.

He'd be happy to have tea with the Madd Hatter. At least you get those little pastry things.

What floor was he supposed to be on again? Heck, what floor WAS he on? He had no idea. In fact, he was beginning to think that just going back to Robin's room would be best. Actually, he was sure that would be best.

Sadly, even though he knew where he was going, he didn't know how to get there.

What was it they always tell little kids? Stay in one place and someone will find you?

Sounded like a plan to him, he was tired of walking anyway. Spotting a nearby bench he prepared himself to be there for quite some time, yet low and behold, Raven emerged from behind a corner almost the second his back met the seat.

"Come on, Robin has a mission for you." She grabbed his arm and led him left. As they turned a corner he spotted the Holy Grail.

"FOOD!" He yelled as he struggled to get out of the woman's grasp. He had finally found it! After all this time! He was so close…

"No time, we're on a schedule. Come on." She said sternly

He could almost feel a tear gliding down his cheek as they turned another down a hall and he watched his prize disappear.

"And so I need you to go home and get his things, and bring them back here as fast as you can." They weren't really in a hurry, but Cyborg knew Beast Boy would take his sweet time otherwise, and he was in no mood to deal with the cranky Robin.

Beast Boy nodded and headed for the door, then pausing he turned and asked "Why me?"

"You're the fastest"

"Raven and Starfire can go just as fast and you know it."

"Starfire has to stay to calm Alec, Raven has to stay to make sure Alec is okay even though she thinks he'll be fine now that Robin is okay, and I have to stay to get some important information."

"About the guy who did this?" Asked Beast Boy excitedly.

"About the proper carburetor for a 44x computerised augmented stormvan."

"So…I'm the only one left then?" He was always the last resort, always.

"Yep. Hurry it up will ya'?"

"Yeah yeah" Mumbled Beast Boy as he left the hospital a bit agitated.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

_Why do I always get stuck with the cruddy easy stuff? I'm just as good at stuff as they are! I should get some credit!_

Beast Boy fumbled with his key paid to the Titan Tower, trying to remember what the combination to undo the advanced security measures was. He was eating a slice of extra gooey cheese pizza that he had picked up along the way. Yes, Cyborg said to hurry, but dang it, he was hungry!

Besides, if it was that important he would of gotten someone _else_ to do it.

Yet Beast Boy was quickly finding out that typing in a number, and then scanning your hand was a lot easier to do when you didn't have cheese dripping all along your fingers. Cursing silently to himself as he entered the wrong combination, he quickly attempted to remember the counter number that would cancel the electric shock that would occur shortly.

Cyborg had installed the electric shock as a safety precaution thinking that the Titans would be able to handle punching in a simple security code. He also said that it did away with annoying door to door salesmen.

It was only after Beast Boy got shocked so many times from this precautionary measure, that he installed the counter code to disable it. Raven had forced him saying that Beast Boy would get brain damage if this continued.

Cyborg reluctantly complied.

Finally, after much difficulty, he managed to get the security down so he could enter the tower. Now all he had to do was grab some toys, a couple of blankets, a diaper or two….

Beast Boy dropped his pizza.

Before him lay the remains of the Titans living room, not a single chair was left standing up, you couldn't tell there was a couch there at one time, all that remained was stuffing and ripped fabric. The game systems lay about in pieces as though someone had taken a personal dislike to video games and unleashed their anger by way of hammer.

Turning to his right he could see the kitchen was in the same if not worse shape. The contents of the refrigerator were spewed every which way, speggitti sauce on the wall created a rather gruesome effect and the cranberry juice on the light carpet was bone chilling.

It took Beast Boy a moment to realize they didn't own any cranberry juice.

With his eyes he followed the red trail, past the remains of the couch, past the once functional now useless stereo, and to the large screen television that alerted the Titans of trouble.

He hadn't noticed before, now he wondered how a blind man could miss it.

The screen was cracked, yet blinking a rapid cycle of pictures, a cryptic message flashed constantly

"Want to come out and play?"

Beast Boy shook himself free of the mesmerizing effects of the screen and examined the red trail…touching the substance ever so slightly, his animal sense of smell quickly adjusted to the onslaught of combinations.

It was blood.

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So there you go, I know I know, he's not out of the hospital exactly…but he's pretty darn close, I promise he'll spend more of the next one out of it.

Actually, there will be way more of Star and Robin in the next one, I know I know they were severely left out of this one and for that I apologize, and again, I'm terribly sorry for updating being so crazy. Your probably thinking that even if she is busy she should be able to sit down and spend at least and hour on it.

Sorry, doesn't work that way, be cool if it did though wouldn't it?

But seriously, you guys deserve much better. Your responses to the last chapter were incredible, I think I got more reviews alone for that one then for any other. Also, say Hi to my new Beta Sasscreech, and be nice to him for he has a daunting task ahead of him.

If you think I've gone way off base here, I assure you, I do have a plot to this, really and I honestly I do, but if you are so compelled to feel as though I've screwed up the entire story, please tell me how I can fix it. I promise I won't bite. :)

Your all the bestest, please continue to review, other wise I'll think this pointless and stop and if your the one kid out there who loves this story but dosn't speak out you'll be dissipoted.

Trust me, I've been there. :)


	15. Responsibility

I realize that updates have been few and far between, making it difficult for some to remember the IMPORTANT, details in the story, thus, here's whats been going on.

Chapter 1 and 2: Robin is working at a police officer in a town where cops are being murdered on a regular bases with his son Alec, he has left the titans for some reason and much of his past is a mystery, Robin is fired from his job.

Chapter 3: Robin Returns home to find someone has ransacked his house, Alec however is unharmed. Robin decides it is time to give the Titans a visit

Chapter 4: We see that Cyborg has taken over as leader of the Titans after an argument that took place between Robin and the team about taking things underground .

Chapter 5: Not much happens in this chapter other then some interactment between Robin and the team. Alec does have a bad dream that leads the titans to believe Slade is somehow involved.

Chapter 6: Tensions burst with Robin and Cyborg as the duke it out on the roof. Robin decides he can't stay at the tower and so he leaves Alec in the care if the Titans while searches for this mysterious foe.

Chapter 7: Robin has been looking for the perpetrator of the break in when he hears a young woman screaming. He is reminded of a time in his past when he faild to save someone very close to him. He rushes to the rescue of the distressed lady, defeating the thugs only to be shot and wounded.

Chapter 8: Something mysterious is making Alec cry out in pain and in a desperate attempt the titans take him to the hospital. Raven sees Robin come in with the paramedics and thinks she knows what's bother Alec.

Chapter 9: Beast Boy and Cyborg flood a hallway. Nuff said.

Chapter 10: Raven explains that Alec can feel Robins emotions and puts up a mental block. Beast Boy is still flooding the hallway, and Starfire meets the girl Robin has saved, while Beast Boy and Cyborg find out that have been in the presence of Bruce Wayne.

Chapter 10: Basically, the titans deal with the grief of Robin's injury and find out Bruce is Robins 'father'

Chapter 11: Raven gets fed up with Cyborg and leaves, Starfire experiences a mental break down, Beast Boy has no idea what's going on, and there still in that darn hospital.

Chapter 12: Raven returns after realizing she can't leave Alec alone, and Bruce meets his grandson for the first time and comes face to face with his boldness.

Chapter 13: Bruce and Cyborg talk, Cyborg lets go of his grudge towards Robin just in time as Robin has woken up and begun coughing up blood

Chapter 14: Robin's told he can go home, and the question of "Where is home" comes up. Beast Boy returns to the tower only to find it in ruin much like Robin's old apartment, with blood on the carpet and a cryptic message on the TV.

Chapter 15:….you really think I'd tell you?

I still own nothing, how fun.

Sacrifices,

Chapter 15: Responsibilites

Raven picked up the remains of…well, she didn't know what it used to be. It was pointless, she had no desire to stand in her bedroom and look at the carnage any longer. Raven could stand fighting crime everyday, facing the end of the world was seemed like every week, but someone going into _her_ room, well, that was something else entirely.

Taking one last glance at her torn curtains and slashed bed spred, she decided she had had enough and was going to go see if Cyborg and Bruce had come up with any ideas as to who had done this.

Not to mention why.

Walking through the hallway that lead to the main room was not a pleasant thing. All the framed pictures Starfire had hung on their wall as a way to remind them of their friendship all lay in shambles, broken and in pieces.

She chose to ignore the irony.

When she reached the main room she noticed that only Beast Boy and Cyborg remained, noticing her confused stare Cyborg informed her that Bruce had left.

"He kept insisting that he could do more research from Gothem…I guess he doesn't realize we have the latest equipment right here…" His voice trailed off and Raven noticed for the first time the far off look in his eye.

"Do you want me to go back to the hospital and fill in Starfire and Robin, or do you want me to stay here and begin cleaning up?"

"I could order pizza!" Beast Boy piped up, noticing the glare he had just received from Raven, he proceeded to announce its not like they had any other food.

"Yeah, or we could do that. So what will it be Cyborg? And don't forget you still have to file an actual report with the police, and we still haven't checked the weight room to see how bad the damage is here, I can get that after I get back from briefing Robin, that is if you want…."

Raven noticed for the first time that Cyborg now looked confused, as if he didn't know what to do.

"Um…Raven, you and Beast Boy go get Robin….and well figure stuff out from there."

"What do you want us to do with him?" asked Beast Boy

"Bring him home, we need his help, I'm going to go lie down."

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If she didn't know any better, she would of thought she was smiling. The corners of her mouth turned slightly upwards as the sight before her.

But she couldn't possibly be smiling, she hadn't smiled in so very long…

And yet, the warm sensation in your chest that you can only receive after performing such an act was a strong indication that she had, in fact smiled. Weather she had meant to or not.

Was it any surprise? She was most certain that the view from the window she was looking through could warm even the coldest of hearts.

For, on the other side of that little window sat a little boy on his daddy's lap, currently being read "The Night before Christmas", the joy and love between the two was unmasked and impossible to miss.

It appeared to Starfire that they had reached the end of the story so she entered the room quietly, hating to break up the father-son moment.

Behind her followed Dr. Kurt preparing to do one final look to make sure Robin was safe to travel.

"Santa come?" Asked an excited Alec

"Hehe, have you been a good boy Alec?" Asked Starfire with a chuckle, Christmas was still a week away and she had never before seen the excitement of a child during the magical time on Earth.

Alec nodded almost violently in the affirmative.

"Well then I'm sure he will! But only on Christmas Eve, and that's still a long time away."

The child looked down disappointed, yet still very pleased that he would be getting a visit from Santa sometime in the future.

"Alright, everything seems good here! Robin, as long as you take it easy and follow your rehabilitation program your set to go home. But no sudden movements and keep your blood pressure low. Starfire, are we still on for…."

Starfire quickly cut him off.

"Yes, that sounds lovely, and could I please ask you a favor?"

"Of course! Anything." Robin noticed that this man seemed far to interested in pleasing Starfire

"I need to have an adult conversation with Robin…do you think you could watch Alec for a little while? It wouldn't be longer then ten minunits…" Okay, Robin had to give it to her now, those eyes could of made anyone do anything for her.

"It would be a pleasure. Come on Alec, lets go look at the fishies in the waiting room." Kurt took the little boys hand and led him through the door.

"Sharks?" Alec asked hopefully.

"Hehe, who knows, maybe we will see some sharks!"

With that the two walked out of hearing range to have an adventure with the goldfish in the waiting room.

Starfire smiled once more, apparently she was beginning to do that more and more, then she remembered why she had sent Alec out of the room and turned to Robin.

He was laying on the hospital bed fully clothed, having changed in preparation to leave as soon as someone came back from the ruined tower and told him he was allowed to. He wore nothing on his face and his eyes stared piercingly into Starfire's.

_Those eyes_.

There was nothing extraordinary about the color, though it was a beautiful auburn, but the intensity of his gaze made Starfire feel almost uneasy, as if he was reading her mind.

"Thank you…for taking care of Alec."

"Robin, who is Alec's mother."

He was taken aback, he knew this question would surface sooner or later, he had only hoped to have come up with a somewhat tangible answer by then.

Unfortunately, he was somewhat busy during the past few days and hadn't had the time.

"Her name…was Rachel. After I left the Titans, I tried my hand at going solo. My name was Nightwing and I fought petty crime and muggings. Taking down major crime bosses isn't as easy when you don't' have a team to back you up, you know…."

He was cut off by Starfire.

"Robin, how did you meet Rachel?"

He sighed.

"Being a vigilante doesn't pay the bills, so during the day I worked at the police station, that's where I met Sam."

"Sam?"

"Yes, Sam. He and I were on the same beat and when you sit in a car for four hours waiting for a possible drug dealer to possibly turn a corner so you can possibly take him down, you become close. He told me about his family, how he really wanted to be a school teacher but had to drop out of collage because he's wife had gotten pregnant and they needed more money. Soon, we were such good friends he invited me over to his house for dinner. He had said it was his wife's idea of repaying me for keeping her husband safe."

"I still don't see…"

"Just listen, that was the night I met Sam's wife, Rachel." Starfire gasped "She was only four or five months along, but she had mother hood all around her. She was truly one of the kindest people I have ever known, and I would spend many other nights at their house. It truly felt like a home, and they were so excited about the baby! I just wanted to absorb it all before I'd have to leave and return to my dark apartment, or go out fight until 8 when I'd have to get up and go back to work.

Rachel kept me alive Starfire. Not because of her great cooking, but she was a living representation of something I was working so hard to protect."

"..What happened?" her voice was barly above a whisper.

"Two weeks before the baby was born, Frank and I were supposed to accompany the narcotics team on a drug bust. Frank was pale and skinny and was going to go undercover as a coke addict. I was supposed to go with him and pretend to be buzzed out. If something went wrong, I was supposed to use my martial arts to keep him okay until Narcotics could get in.

The problem was, that same night I had gotten a tip that the Joker would be in a gambling hall. His goons had been robbing the locals and kidnapping the woman for some time, and I didn't want to let the opportunity go to waste" He didn't mention that he was also egger to prove himself worth to Bruce who had been trailing the Joker for the better part of his career.

"What went wrong?" Things were beginning to make sense to Starfire, but she still was unsure on how it all fit together.

"The tip was a bust; the gambling hall was full of his goons. They were all waiting for me. I was able to get away with nothing more then a few nicks but I didn't realize until it was too late that the reason it had been a set up, was to get at Sam."

Starfire perked up. "Wait, what do you mean? Why would they care about him?"

"The Joker, or whoever he was working for at the time, didn't like the fact I was getting so close to whatever there plan was, and so they decided they'd eliminate the things close to me."

"Starting with Sam" Starfire continued.

"Starting with Sam, because I wasn't with him when he entered the house, and because they couldn't wait for me, he was almost defenseless. Sam was no light weight, but he couldn't come close to stopping 15 armed men."

"You mean…"

"He died the next day in the hospital. He died because of me and my ignorance, and because of me and my ignorance, Rachel's baby wouldn't have a father. She lost so much of her spark after that day, but the day Alec was born she gained so much of it back."

Starfire's eyes opened wide in shock and surprise. "So you mean…you're not really…"

"No, I am not Alec's biological father."

"Then…what happened to Rachel?"

Robin lowered his head before continuing.

"I love Rachel, not in a romantic way, but I felt so tied to her. Not only for being responsible for Sam's death…"

"You weren't responsible! You can to everything Robin…" Starfire interrupted, how could he think so horribly of himself all the time?

"Heh, Rachel always said so too, and yet, after Alec came along she accepted my offer to help. I moved in with her and covered every expense I could find. Sense I couldn't work, take care of Rachel and Alec, and be Nightwing, I gave up the thing that had hurt me the most…."

"Nightwing."

"Yes, I gave up my dream of helping the city in order to help a friend. Only little did I know that there were still enemies of Nightwing's looking out for ways to seek revenge.

Rachel and Alec had gone out for a walk around 7o'clock. It was getting colder out so the days were shorter and it was almost dark…By this time, I considered Alec my own and loved him like Sam would of, or at least, as well as I could. I was walking home from my shift and was so excited to see him after the hard day, that when I heard the woman screaming, I continued on."

"Oh no…Robin, you didn't leave her did you?" The will to cry was overwhelming, yet, she had to hear this out.

"No, but I did hesitate…and if I hadn't have hesitated, maybe I could of saved her…By the time I reached where the screams were coming from, I was horrified to see Rachel being pushed against a wale with a knife to her throat. I ran as fast as I could, but I was too late….

She died in my arms." A single tear ran down his cheek.

"But…didn't you see who had held the knife?" Surly, he stopped them from getting away, surly, he didn't go through all this pain for nothing.

"By that point, it didn't matter to me. Sam was dead, Rachel was dead, both my fault. I was about to pick up the knife that Rachel's killer had abandoned and do the same to myself, when I heard Alec cry.

In all the chaos, I had completely forgotten about him. Yet there he lay, in his stroller, perfectly unharmed. I laid Rachel's body down and slowly made my way over too him. He wasn't hurt, but he was still so helpless. After that I knew that I owed it to both Rachel and Sam to take him as my own."

Robin laid his head back on his pillow to signify that he was done, not to mention that with a broken rib talking hurt.

Starfire was silent, wondering just how much they had all miss judged him in the past, and how much they will miss judge him in the future.

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Wow, extra long this time me thinks. Take this as a Christmas present! Now, I know your all thinking "but she said he'd be out of the hospital'' well…your right. He isn't. But he won't even be there at all next chapter so don't worry too much! So…now you all know what happened to Alec's mom.

If you feel the need to flame me about it, go for it, but send along how you would of done it m'kay?

Hehe, you guys are all very awesome. Sorry for the long wait. Finals suck.


	16. Family Connections

I realize that updates have been few and far between, making it difficult for some to remember the IMPORTANT, details in the story, thus, here's whats been going on.

Chapter 1 and 2: Robin is working at a police officer in a town where cops are being murdered on a regular bases with his son Alec, he has left the titans for some reason and much of his past is a mystery, Robin is fired from his job.

Chapter 3: Robin Returns home to find someone has ransacked his house, Alec however is unharmed. Robin decides it is time to give the Titans a visit

Chapter 4: We see that Cyborg has taken over as leader of the Titans after an argument that took place between Robin and the team about taking things underground .

Chapter 5: Not much happens in this chapter other then some interactment between Robin and the team. Alec does have a bad dream that leads the titans to believe Slade is somehow involved.

Chapter 6: Tensions burst with Robin and Cyborg as the duke it out on the roof. Robin decides he can't stay at the tower and so he leaves Alec in the care if the Titans while searches for this mysterious foe.

Chapter 7: Robin has been looking for the perpetrator of the break in when he hears a young woman screaming. He is reminded of a time in his past when he faild to save someone very close to him. He rushes to the rescue of the distressed lady, defeating the thugs only to be shot and wounded.

Chapter 8: Something mysterious is making Alec cry out in pain and in a desperate attempt the titans take him to the hospital. Raven sees Robin come in with the paramedics and thinks she knows what's bother Alec.

Chapter 9: Beast Boy and Cyborg flood a hallway. Nuff said.

Chapter 10: Raven explains that Alec can feel Robins emotions and puts up a mental block. Beast Boy is still flooding the hallway, and Starfire meets the girl Robin has saved, while Beast Boy and Cyborg find out that have been in the presence of Bruce Wayne.

Chapter 10: Basically, the titans deal with the grief of Robin's injury and find out Bruce is Robins 'father'

Chapter 11: Raven gets fed up with Cyborg and leaves, Starfire experiences a mental break down, Beast Boy has no idea what's going on, and there still in that darn hospital.

Chapter 12: Raven returns after realizing she can't leave Alec alone, and Bruce meets his grandson for the first time and comes face to face with his boldness.

Chapter 13: Bruce and Cyborg talk, Cyborg lets go of his grudge towards Robin just in time as Robin has woken up and begun coughing up blood

Chapter 14: Robin's told he can go home, and the question of "Where is home" comes up. Beast Boy returns to the tower only to find it in ruin much like Robin's old apartment, with blood on the carpet and a cryptic message on the TV.

Chapter 15: We find out whats going on with Alecs Mom, and Ravens bummed about cleaning up house.

Sacrifices Chapter 16

When he didn't answer on the first ring, he knew something was wrong.

When the 3rd and 4th had come and gone, he knew something was very wrong.

Alfred Pennyworth had come into the employment of the Wayne's precisely 17 years before Bruce Wayne was born. At the time the English Gentlemen had been an able 18-year-old boy, hired for the purposes of caring and training the family's horses. He was no mere stable boy however and he soon befriended the entire household. Perhaps most notably he became a grand comrade to a certain Thomas Wayne. When young Wayne took over his fathers company 4 years later Alfred was asked to serve as chief advisor on both bussness and personal matters.

It was two years later that Thomas Wayne married a Miss Martha after Alfred throughly approved the young lady and only a short time after that that a certain young charge came into this world.

Following this fast paced sequence of events Alfred Pennyworth soon found himself in an awkward position. While he still held the title of chief advisor he felt he was in remiss of his dutys, stating that he felt he shouldn't be paid to keep a friendship he suggest he retire from the company and return to Cambridge. However, upon hearing this news Martha Wayne burst into tears and begged him to stay.

And thus a deal was made.

When tradgedy befell the perfect world that Alfred has once found himself in, it was all he could do to keep going. It was the fact that Thomas Wayne had left one very important thing behind in his will that really held the Englishmen together.

If under said circumstances tragedy should befall me, I reward full custody of my son Bruce Wayne to my wife Martha Wayne, if tradedy should befall me and my wife I reward full cusotdy of my son to Alfred Pennyworth, a trusted brother and companion.

And so, though perhaps not through circumstances he had once anticipated, he became destined to grow old with the last of the Wayne family. A dream he once thought far away…

This was the life of Alfred Pennyworth. A life that had been spent in great quantity with a certain Bruce Wayne.

A Bruce Wayne that was currently trying to come into contact with Alfred Pennyworth.

He was not getting an answer.

Batman was not someone to take to answering machines well. It didn't matter what the persona, he got what he wanted, when he wanted it.

Alfred had only been absent twice in Bruce's entire life. Once, several years ago when his sister had become ill and he had to visit her to care for her, and once recently when the man had come down with phenomena.

Even a cough couldn't keep him down for long though.

Alfred currently was in impeccable health and had no ailing relatives. Perhaps this was the reason for a certain billionaire driving quite a bit more then the suggested speed limit on the way home.

scenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreakscenebreak

Something was not right.

Robin knew that something was indeed, very wrong. He knew this the second he hobbled into the Titan's Tower and his phone rang. He knew from the moment her heard Bruce's voice on the other end.

Something was quite wrong.

Raven knew something was not right the moment Robin said hello. The anxiety coming from his voice was enough to alert a child to the situation.

And speaking of a child, Alec knew something was not right the second his father lost color from his face.

But Robin would not have been a leader if he lost his cool with ever bit of bad news. An intake of breath and then a question,

"Where's Cyborg?"

Starfire, Beastboy, Raven, and Alec all stood in the living room. Pizza on hand, they had prepared for a homecoming of sorts. The prodigal son was back.

Raven was the first to recover from the seemingly random question "In his room, resting."

"Get him, and pack anything you might need for the next few days. We're going to Gothem." His voice was firm, but his eyes betrayed how he really felt.

"Robin….what is the matter?" Ventured a worried Starfire.

"They um….someone took, Alfred is missing." He was standing in the middle of the floor, as though he couldn't quite remember how to move.

"Um, Robby? Why don't you just take a seat here…." Beastboy didn't like seeing people afraid, especially people he counted on not to be afraid. This might actually be worse then when he thought Robin was a jerk.

"We need to get ready to leave, this is probably related to what has been going on around here…. But why would they go after Alfred? It doesn't make any sense…." Subconsciously, Robin had indeed taken a seat on the couch, and was now quietly wondering why someone would attack Alfred…and he was dreading the conclusion he was coming too.

"Raven, do you know what this…"

The dark hair girl nodded silently. "Someone knows who you really are Richard."

Robin groaned. How had things gotten so off track?

Suddenly, Robin heard giggling, his first instinct was to look at Alec, but the boy merly stood near Starfire looking confused and tired. Turning his head to the location of the sound, he saw Beastboy, standing by the refrigerator, laughing as though he had just heard a joke.

It took a moment for Beastboy to notice he was being glared at, but it hardly diminished his spirits.

"Your names Richard." He explained.

"Yes…my name is Richard." There were preparations that needed to be made….things that needed to be readied to leave as soon as Cyborg arrived and they could construct a plan.

"You really ARE a Dick!" The laughter had become too much for the young beast man to handle and he collapsed to the floor holding his stomach in stitches.

Before Robin could respond to this outstanding display of maturity during a time of crisis, Cyborg entered the room.

"Who's a dick?" asked the Metal Man?

"Apparently, it is a hidden meaning within Robins earth name…." Starfire did not understand why earth had such an unusual system of names, nor how one could have so very many names.

"Daddy? Whats a dick?" asked Alec pensively

"We're leaving, NOW." Yelled Robin before any more of this could get out of hand. So be it if none of them were ready, and if the tower was in dismay, or the fact they were ill equipped.

Besides, if they didn't leave now, they may be too late.

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Yes, its been like 2 years. Yes, this chapter is short and crappy. Probably because I don't like this story anymore. I still think I had a good idea, I just went into this premature. I didn't have a good enough story to go with the idea. I will keep writing sparaticly, as randome reviews encourage me. Feel free to yell at all the time it took me to write this.


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